RIPON, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball team finished its opening weekend on Saturday with a pair of matches in the Weiske Gymnasium against Martin Luther College and UW-Superior.
 
The Red Hawks (1-3) dropped a four-set decision to Martin Luther (25-15, 15-25, 22-25, 17-25) before falling in a three-set thriller to UW-Superior (22-25, 17-25, 26-28).
 
After a commanding first set against the Knights, Ripon had multiple four-point leads in the third set and even led 21-19 before MLC rallied to score six of the last seven points and claim the set. In the fourth set, the Knights used a late 6-0 run to help close out the match.
 
Ripon had 11 aces in its first match of the day. Sam Differt led the charge with 6.
 
Riley Nielsen had the Red Hawks first double-double of the season, posting 18 assists and 13 digs. Ellie Ove had 9 kills to pace Ripon in that category.
 
Against Superior, the Red Hawks held a 21-20 lead late in the first set before a 4-0 Yellowjacket run sparked the comeback set victory. In a back-and-forth set three, Ripon took control and led 23-15 before UWS scored seven straight to close the gap. With Ripon holding a set point at 24-22, Superior broke ahead with three consecutive points and eventually won the set by two to finish the match.
 
Ripon once again held the advantage in aces (7-4) but was out-blocked 13-2 at the net.
 
Ove and Haylee Kast each had 11 kills in the tournament finale. Both Emily Braun and Nielsen had double-digit assists, compiling 17 and 10, respectively. Sam Thrasher had 13 digs to lead the team while Differt added 12.
 
For her efforts, Kast was named to the All-Tournament Team. Over the weekend, she had 33 kills, 28 digs and 6 aces. The freshman also led the team with 39.5 points.
 
The full All-Tournament Team is below:
 
Haylee Kast (Ripon)
Emma Schattschneider (MSOE)
Bri Ecker (Mount Mary)
Kaylin Plautz (UW-Superior)
Grace Kieselhorst (Martin Luther)
Emma Powell (Dubuque)
Ashlee Adler (Dubuque)
 
Ripon is back in action next Friday (September 8) in Milwaukee for the annual Blue Angel Bash hosted by Mount Mary. The Red Hawks play Rockford at 3 p.m. before closing the day with Maranatha Baptist at 7:30 p.m.
 
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