WAUKESHA, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program embarked on its stretch of three matches in four days on Wednesday, falling to Carroll 3-0 inside Van Male Fieldhouse by set scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-8.
 
Carroll (14-13) got off to a hot start in its final home match of the season, racing out to a quick 10-4 lead. Ripon (9-18) never led in the first set and, after the Pioneers hit double digits, never got closer than five the remainder of the set as Carroll ended the stanza on a 10-4 run.
 
Set two was dominated by Carroll once again as the hosts scored nine of the first 10 points. Ellie Ove had a pair of kills in the first half of the set, but the Pioneers used four different runs of at least three points to keep Ripon at bay. Carroll kept a steady double-digit lead en route to winning the set by 11.
 
The Pioneers kept the pressure on in the third and final frame, opening up the set with a 16-2 lead. Ripon was unable to generate any momentum in the final stanza as Carroll claimed set three by 17 to complete the sweep.
 
In a balanced offensive attack, Paris Croker had 5 kills, while Lydia Ellis had 4. Emily Braun collected 15 assists with just 3 errors.
 
Defensively, Sam Thrasher had 8 digs. The senior is now just 4 away from 1,000 digs for her career with two matches remaining.
 
As a team, Ripon had 22 kills compared to Carroll's 42. Each team had just one service ace, but the Pioneers had a sizable 7-2 advantage in total blocks. Carroll also had a 37-18 edge in assists.
 
Ripon wraps up the road portion of its schedule on Friday (November 3) as the Red Hawks visit Lawrence. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
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