DE PERE, Wisconsin — Head coach Katie Astrauskas won the 150th game of her coaching career on Tuesday night as the Ripon volleyball program split a triangular at the Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
 
Ripon defeated MSOE 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23) in the opener before falling to the host St. Norbert Green Knights 3-0 (5-25, 16-25, 25-27).
 
Astrauskas, the second-longest tenured head coach in program history only trailing Elaine Coll, becomes the third volleyball coach at Ripon to reach the 150-win threshold. She joins Coll (258 wins) and Kelly Witte (189 wins) atop the school leaderboard.
 
Ripon (8-14) started out strong in the opener, scoring 10 of the first 15 points to open up a 10-5 lead. However, MSOE (11-15) made a run of its own, pulling even multiple times, the latest coming at 14-14. From there, Ripon charged ahead late with a 6-1 spurt, prompting a Raider timeout as the Red Hawks led 20-15. Emily Braun finished off the set with a kill and Ripon won the opening frame 25-21.
 
MSOE responded in the second set, scoring six of the first seven points before Ripon countered with the next seven. The teams jockeyed for position from there, though Ripon led 19-15 following an ace by Sophia Brinker for the Red Hawks' biggest lead of the set. The Raiders would not go away, trimming their deficit to one at 20-19, but a service ace by Bella Kasuboski gave Ripon a three-point cushion (22-19). With the score tied at 22, the Red Hawks scored the final three points of the set to win set two 25-22.
 
After Ripon took an 8-6 lead in the opening moments of set three, MSOE scored the next five points to pull ahead 11-8. Though the Red Hawks tied the match at 12 following a kill by Lainie Heizler, the Raiders kept their advantage. Ripon scored four of five points to pull even at 22, but the Raiders blocked the next point to stay in front. Tied at 23, MSOE forced a fourth set with back-to-back points.
 
Ripon doubled up MSOE early in the fourth set, taking a 10-5 lead. Though MSOE made it a two-point game multiple times in the moments after, the Red Hawks continued to stay in front. Back-to-back points put Ripon in front 19-14, though the Raiders would not quit and tied the stanza up at 21 apiece. Leading 24-23, Heizler put down a kill to secure the victory for the Red Hawks.
 
Nickie Shaw had a match-high 14 kills to lead Ripon, while Ellie Ove (11 kills) and Haylee Kast (10 kills) were also in double figures. Braun tallied a season-high 38 assists, and Michaela Riege notched a career-high 26 digs.
 
The Red Hawks had a season-high 18 aces, and led MSOE 51-48 in kills.
 
In the second match, St. Norbert (15-12) raced out to a 19-2 lead after scoring eight of the first nine points. A service error by the Green Knights got Ripon back on the board, but the hosts won the set moments later with a 3-0 run to finish the frame.
 
Ripon recovered nicely in the opening moments of the second set, knotting the score at seven following three consecutive points. SNC pulled in front 20-10 after an 8-0 run, effectively putting the set out of reach. Ripon scored four consecutive points to make it a 21-15 game, but the Green Knights secured the frame shortly after and headed into set three with a 2-0 match lead.
 
The Red Hawks jumped out to a 9-2 advantage at the beginning of set three, highlighted by a 5-0 run. Ripon led by 10 (16-6) after a Kasuboski service ace, but SNC scored the next six to cut its deficit to four. The Red Hawks kept their advantage until an 8-0 SNC run gave the hosts a late 24-21 lead. After Ripon fought off three consecutive match points, the visitors led 25-24 on a Braun service ace. However, the Green Knights scored the next three points to finish off the sweep.
 
Kast led Ripon with six kills, while Braun collected another double-double (14 assists, 13 digs). Kasuboski and Riege both recorded double-digit digs as well, tallying 10 apiece.

Astrauskas wasn't the only Red Hawk to reach a milestone on Tuesday -- Braun eclipsed 1,000 career assists in the opening match against MSOE. The junior now stands at 1,032 for her career.
 
SNC had a 39-18 advantage in kills, a 63-51 edge in digs and a 38-18 lead in assists. Ripon recorded eight service aces in the match, allowing seven by SNC.
 
Ripon visits Knox for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday, October 26.
 
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