MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program split a pair of matches on Saturday, defeating Beloit 3-0 before falling to MSOE 3-1 at the Kern Center.
 
Ripon (7-7) defeated Beloit (1-8) 25-17, 25-22, 25-20 in a non-conference match before losing to MSOE (6-9) 16-25, 21-25, 25-20, 17-25.
 
Against the Buccaneers in Ripon's first match of the triangular, Beloit scored the first two points of the match but the teams went blow for blow from there in the early going. With Beloit leading 14-13, a 7-0 Ripon run put the Red Hawks in front by six nearing the end of the first set. The Bucs cut their deficit to six at 23-17, but kills by Emily Braun and Lainie Heizler gave Ripon the first frame.
 
The second set was similarly even in the opening moments – Ripon raced out to an 8-3 lead, but the Bucs rallied to tie the match at 14 following a kill. Ripon led by two moments later, though the Buccaneers answered and the teams were square at 19 following another Siddalee Meyers kill. Ellie Ove led Ripon's charge to the finish line of the set; kills by the senior and Nickie Shaw gave the Red Hawks slight breathing room and a 21-19 advantage. After a service ace by Michaela Riege, Ripon jumped in front 23-20 to prompt a Beloit timeout before the Red Hawks won the set 25-22 on a kill by Sophia Brinker.
 
Ripon doubled up Beloit 8-4 early in the third set and only trailed once in the frame. The Red Hawks pulled in front 14-10, and though Beloit made it 14-13 following a trio of points, Braun collected a kill to buoy Ripon's advantage once again. The Red Hawks comfortably led 19-14, but Beloit would not go away and scored four consecutive points to find themselves right back in the set. Following a Red Hawks timeout, Ripon scored six of the last eight points in the set to collect another sweep, its sixth of the season.
 
Shaw led Ripon with 8 kills, while Brinker and Ove each had 6. Braun tallied 16 assists and Karly Riverdahl notched 11 in a balanced offensive attack, while Riege (15), Alyssa Murry (14) and Bella Kasuboski (10) all had double digit efforts in digs.
 
As a team, Ripon outmuscled Beloit in kills (35-23), aces (6-5), blocks (4-1), assists (29-22) and digs (64-52).
 
MSOE blitzed the Red Hawks in the opening set, leading 20-11 following a 5-1 run in the middle portion of the frame. Though Ripon cut its deficit to six multiple times from there, the Raiders scored the final three points of the frame to win the opening stanza 25-16.
 
Each team took turns holding a lead in the early going of the second set. With Ripon in front 8-7, the Raiders scored the next five points to lead 12-8, a lead it would not relinquish in the stanza. The Red Hawks battled to come within two in the set, but MSOE scored the following eight points after it was 14-12. MSOE had a myriad of set points leading 24-13, but Ripon scored eight in a row to make it interesting before the Raiders eventually claimed the set.
 
Ripon continued its momentum from set two into set three, scoring the first five points of the frame. However, MSOE charged back and cut its deficit to one on multiple occasions before eventually taking a 12-11 lead. Ripon responded in a big way from there, scoring the next 11 points to reclaim a 22-12 advantage. MSOE made it a four-point game deep into the frame, but Brinker finished the set on a kill to force a fourth set.
 
MSOE jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth frame, but Ripon rallied to cut its deficit to two at 9-7. However, the Raiders scored the next six points and took a 15-7 lead. MSOE scored seven of the last nine points in the set to cruise to a 25-17 set four win.
 
Shaw had a game-high 16 kills to lead Ripon, while Heizler was next with 8. Braun garnered a game-high 27 assists, and Kasuboski tallied a quartet of service aces to go along with 21 digs. Riege (15) and Braun (13) both were in double figure digs as well.
 
MSOE had slim leads in kills (41-35), aces (12-8), blocks (6-4) and assists (34-30).
 
Ripon begins Midwest Conference play next Friday (September 27) at Lake Forest. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
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