RIPON, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program faced tough competition for the second and final day of the Red Hawks Invitational, dropping matches to Nebraska Wesleyan and Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday inside Weiske Gymnasium.
 
Ripon (6-6) dropped its matinee match to NWU (7-5) in three sets (25-9, 25-21, 25-17) and fell to WLC (5-7) in three sets as well (25-21, 25-15, 25-12).
 
Against the Prairie Wolves in the opener, Ripon was unable to get any momentum going in the first set and, despite leading 20-18 in the second set and 16-15 in the third set, could not put away NWU.
 
Ellie Ove led the squad with 6 kills, while Riley Nielsen dished out 12 assists. Two Red Hawks were in double-digits in digs: Haylee Kast (11) and Nielsen (10).
 
NWU led Ripon in kills (35-25), aces (8-3) and blocks (4-0).
 
In the tournament finale, WLC held comfortable leads in each set en route to the match sweep.
 
Senior Lydia Ellis had a team-high 7 kills, while Nielsen had 7 assists and Sam Thrasher had 10 digs to lead the way defensively.
 
Ellis was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts, which were highlighted by a pair of standout offensive performances on Friday. She hit .500 with 12 kills against Maranatha and racked up 9 kills at a .471 clip against Carroll.
 
The full All-Tournament Team is listed below:
 
Lydia Ellis, Ripon
Kylee Gnabasik, Wisconsin Lutheran
Arielle Henkel, Maranatha Baptist
Addie Thomas, Nebraska Wesleyan
Talia Johnson, Carroll
Katie Jensen, Carroll
 
Ripon heads on the road next weekend (September 22-23) for three matches at UW-Stevens Point for the Pointers Invitational. The Red Hawks first take on #3 UW-Oshkosh at 3 p.m. on Friday, September 22.
 
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