RIPON, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program rounded out its Midwest Conference slate on Friday night, falling to Lawrence 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 26-24) inside Weiske Gymnasium.
 
Ripon (9-17, 1-7 MWC) roared out of the gate in the opening set, scoring 11 of the first 13 points and forcing Lawrence (11-20, 4-4 MWC) to use an early timeout in the process. The Vikings responded down nine, scoring five consecutive points to make it a 12-8 game. Ripon pushed its lead back up to seven, but Lawrence would not go away and tied the match at 17 following back-to-back kills. The teams went back-and-forth from there, but Ripon held a 23-22 lead after an LU attack error. However, the Vikings scored the final three points of the stanza to steal set one.
 
Ripon again took an early lead in set two, pulling in front 10-6 after an Emily Braun kill. With the Red Hawks leading 11-7, Lawrence scored seven points in a row to flip the match and put the visitors in front 14-11. The Vikings kept their advantage the remainder of the set, and scored four of the final six points in the frame to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
Both sides were even through the opening moments of set three, but six consecutive points for Ripon gave the Red Hawks a 13-7 lead. Lawrence reclaimed the advantage after eight points in a row before an LU service error stemmed the tide. Ripon would not go away, and answered with a rally of its own – three-straight by the hosts put the Red Hawks in front 19-18. With Ripon leading 24-22, Lawrence fended off two set points and closed the match with four points in a row to secure the sweep.
 
Nickie Shaw paced Ripon with eight kills, while Makenna Harren followed behind with six. Braun dished out 21 assists, while Michaela Riege recorded a team-high 14 digs.
 
With her only ace of the match, Bella Kasuboski broke the Ripon school record for single-season aces with her 63rd. She broke a record that had stood since Jenny Brooks recorded 62 aces in 2002.
 
Lawrence had 38 kills to Ripon's 28, and had 10 aces to the Red Hawks' seven. Blocks (4-2), assists (27-23) and digs (40-35) were also in the visitors' favor.
 
Ripon closes its season with a home triangular on Saturday, November 9. The Red Hawks host Coe at 11 a.m. and have their Senior Day match at 3 p.m. against Mount Mary.
 
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