MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program continued its winning ways on Saturday, sweeping away both Mount Mary and Alverno to round out the Blue Angel Bash.
Ripon (5–3) cruised past Mount Mary (0-7) 25-18, 25-14, 25-14 before taking down Alverno (1-3) 25-17, 25-14, 25-20 in its final match of the weekend.
Four of the Red Hawks' five wins this season have come by three-set sweeps.
In the opening game of the day, Ripon showed no signs of rust from Friday night by jumping out to an 8-3 lead. Mount Mary never got closer than three the rest of the way, and after four straight points brought the Blue Angels within 14-10, three consecutive points gave Ripon a seven-point cushion. Though Mount Mary continued to battle and cut its deficit to three multiple times in the late going, Ripon closed the set on a 4-0 run to grab the early upper hand.
Mount Mary responded quickly in the second half, leading 8-4 in the early stages. However, Ripon roared back with a 6-0 spurt to retake the lead. From there, the teams jostled for position until Ripon put the throttle down to close the set – leading 12-11, the Red Hawks finished the frame on a 13-3 run to lead the match 2-0.
The teams took turns exchanging the lead in the early going of set three, and after five consecutive points by the Blue Angels, the Red Hawks ripped off 12 consecutive points of their own to grab the lead for good at 16-7. Five points in a row moments later brought Ripon's advantage to double digits, and a
Nickie Shaw kill gave the Red Hawks the sweep with the 25-14 set three win.
Similar to Friday, the Red Hawks led a balanced attack offensively.
Ellie Ove had a match-high seven kills, while Shaw,
Sophia Brinker and
Haylee Kast all had six.
Karly Riverdahl notched 25 assists, and
Michaela Riege was strong defensively with a match-high 19 digs.
Ripon dominated the match from a team standpoint as well; the Red Hawks racked up 33 kills to Mount Mary's 13, and had 15 service aces while conceding just four. Ripon also held advantages in assists (30-12) and digs (51-45).
The opening set in the afternoon finale was close through the first 11 points, but a 6-1 run gave Ripon a 13-6 cushion. However, Alverno pushed back, trimming its deficit to three on multiple occasions. Six consecutive points gave Ripon a 22-13 lead, and the Red Hawks finished off the set moments later by scoring three of the final four points.
Alverno held a 7-6 advantage in set two, but a 6-0 spurt put Ripon in front for good in the frame. After the Inferno made it a 17-12 game with a kill by Rolin West, Ripon rattled off six points in a row to bring its lead to double digits. A kill by Brinker and an ace by
Samantha Differt gave Ripon a 25-14 set two victory.
The Red Hawks started strong in set three, gaining a 16-10 advantage following a kill by Ove. With Ripon nursing a comfortable 20-12 lead, the Inferno roared back with a 6-0 run to cut the Red Hawks' lead to 20-18. However, Ripon calmly put the match away by scoring five of the next seven points to earn a third sweep on the weekend.
Two Red Hawks recorded double-digit kills as both Shaw and Brinker totaled 12 – Shaw hit a blistering .476 in the match, while Brinker was right behind her at a .474 clip. Riverdahl had a season-high 32 assists, while Riege (20 digs) and
Bella Kasuboski (10 digs) anchored Ripon defensively.
Ripon had twice as many kills (40-20) and nearly twice as many assists (35-18) as Alverno. The Red Hawks also held statistical advantages in aces (9-6), blocks (4-3) and digs (51-45).
Ripon returns home for its annual Red Hawks Invitational next weekend, September 13-14. The Red Hawks open with Maranatha Baptist at 4 p.m. on Friday the 13th before squaring off against St. Scholastica at 8 p.m.
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