RIPON, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program split two matches on Saturday at its own Ripon College Classic, defeating Marian in a five-set thriller before dropping a three-set match to Illinois Tech.
 
In the back-and-forth opener, Ripon dispatched of its nearby rivals 25-23, 15-25, 25-22, 22-25, 16-14. In the last game of the day, the Red Hawks fell to IIT 25-14, 25-19, 25-11.
 
What ended up being a tight first of game one set did not start out that way. Ripon (2-2) scored the first four points of the match and a Marian (3-1) service error put the hosts in front 10-4. After a kill by Lainie Heizler, the Red Hawks led 18-10 and were on the brink of cruising to a first set win. However, Marian roared back, scoring five in a row to make it a three-point game. The Sabres tied the game at 23, but two unforced errors gave Ripon a close 25-23 set win.
 
Set two started the opposite way, as Marian scored the first four points and led 12-3 after five consecutive points. From there, the visitors maintained a lead of at least six throughout the remainder of the frame. Ripon cut an 11-point deficit to nine late in the set, but a Marian kill evened the match at a set apiece.
 
In the critical third set, the teams jostled for positioning. After a Marian attack error, Ripon led 17-16 and didn't relinquish the lead for the remainder of the frame. Throughout most of the set, neither team led by more than two points until a Samantha Differt ace put the Red Hawks in front 19-16. After Marian came within one point in the late stages, kills by Nickie Shaw and Sophia Brinker gave Ripon an important 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Marian evened things up in the fourth set. Though Ripon raced out to a 4-0 lead, the Sabres used four runs of at least three points to force a fifth set. Trailing 16-11, Ripon countered with five consecutive points to knot things up, though Marian quickly scored the next three points to take the lead for good. Ripon was within one at 22-21, but the Sabres scored three of the next four points to take the match to a fifth set.
 
The fifth set could not have been any closer. Marian led 8-3, but Ripon would not be denied, scoring the next five points to even things up. A 5-1 run put the visitors on the brink of victory leading 14-12, but four consecutive points – kills by Ellie Ove and Michaela Riege, coupled with two Riege service aces – sent Willmore into a frenzy and gave the Red Hawks the win.
 
Ove led Ripon with 10 kills, while Heizler had nine and Brinker tallied seven. Riege (three), Brinker (two) and Differt (two) all had multiple service aces, while Karly Riverdahl dished out 30 assists. Defensively, Riege led the way with 25 digs, while Bella Kasuboski (13) and Riverdahl (10) were also in double digits.
 
Each team had 10 aces, while Marian had more kills (60-44), blocks (8-7) and assists (57-38). Ripon had a slight 76-75 edge in digs.
 
Illinois Tech (3-1) scored seven of the first eight points in game two, putting the Red Hawks in an early hole that would prove tough to climb out of. Ripon battled back to tie the game on multiple occasions, but an 8-0 run put the Scarlet Hawks up 19-11 towards the end of the frame. IIT scored four of the final points in the set to win the opener 25-14.
 
Set two was back-and-forth to begin, as Ripon countered an early deficit to pull in front 10-6. After the score was deadlocked at 12 apiece, the lead for both teams was either one or two until IIT pulled in front 21-17, going on a late 4-0 spurt. The Scarlet Hawks again scored four of the last five points to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
IIT was in control throughout the third set. After the teams went point-for-point in the early stages, the Scarlet Hawks went on an 8-1 run to lead 13-7. After an IIT attack error moments later, the Scarlet Hawks scored nine straight to go in front 22-8, taking the wind out of Ripon's sails. Though Ripon did score three of four points near the end of the match, Illinois Tech got a kill and an ace to finish off the match.
 
Brinker and Ove each had six kills for Ripon, and Riverdahl tallied 15 assists. Kasuboski garnered at least three service aces for the third time this season – accumulating three against IIT – while Riverdahl and Riege each contributed seven digs.

For her efforts, Riege was named to the Ripon College Classic All-Tournament team following the completion of the tournament. The junior played in all 16 sets, totaling 65 digs (4.06 digs/set) with only four reception errors.
 
Ripon heads to Milwaukee next Friday and Saturday (September 6-7) for the Blue Angel Bash hosted by Mount Mary. The Red Hawks open up with Maranatha Baptist (3 p.m.) and Bluffton (7:30 p.m.) on Friday.
 
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