RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College volleyball program (6-16, 1-5 MWC) fell in three sets to the visiting Illinois College Lady Blues (11-9. 5-2 MWC) this Friday, October 23.
The first set got away from the Red Hawks early. After keeping close with the Lady Blues until Illinois College held an advantage up 7-5, the visitors amassed a nine point run, pulling ahead on an equal measure of kills and Ripon attack errors. The Lady Blues maintained their lead through to the end of the set, closing the first with a 25-9 scoreline. The second set had Ripon show some signs of success early, with sophomoreÂ
Addi Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin Lutheran HS) earning a service ace early as the Red Hawks sought to prevent Illinois College from building on their momentum. However, the Lady Blues would again assemble a run in the middle of the set, pulling ahead to a 16-9 deficit. While a kill from sophomoreÂ
Brooklyn Tranberg (Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin Lutheran HS) and an ace from freshmanÂ
Carli Murphy (East Troy, Wis., East Troy HS) gave Ripon some energy, the Lady Blues once again held their lead, winning the second 25-15.Â
Ripon found solid offense in the third set, raising their collective hitting percentage by more than .200. Down 16-19 as the final points of the set began to close in, freshmanÂ
Parker Maxey's (Springfield, Ill., )Â serve put the Red Hawks back in the conversation, tying up the set at 20-all. However, the Lady Blues would close the set with an even mix of kills and aces, putting the match away 25-20.Â
Ripon returns to action tomorrow, October 24, for an MWC match up against Knox College. The Prairie Fire enter the contest 3-19 this season, coming off a 0-3 loss to Lake Forest at the time of writing,
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