RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon volleyball program (3-10, 0-0 MWC) earned a five-set victory over the Blue Angels of Mount Mary (2-12, 1-3 CCAC) before dropping a three-setter to the UW-Stout Polytechnic Blue Devils (9-3, 0-0 WIAC).
The Red Hawks opened the second day of the Red Hawks Invitational by scoring a first set win in Weiske Gym. Coming out strong against Mount Mary, the Red Hawks quickly took a 15-9 lead, hitting .263 as a team against the Blue Angels .158. Already in strong position at 17-12, sophomore
Brooklyn Tranberg (Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin Lutheran HS) furthered Ripon's lead with a service ace, as senior
Haylee Kast (Reedsburg, Wis., Reedsburg Area HS) put together four kills to give Ripon a 22-12 lead. Mount Mary would find some late set footing, bringing the score to 24-18, but faltered at the end, comitting an attack error to give Ripon the opening set.
The second set quickly became a different story. Trading blows up to 10-8 with Ripon in the lead, Mount Mary rattled off 14 of the next 16 points, bolstered by Ripon's struggle with serve reception. The Red Hawks continued to falter on serve, as the Blue Angels took the second with eight aces across the set. The third set saw the Blue Angels continuing their momentum, rattling off kills at a continual rate while hitting a sky-high .533 as a team. The third went the way of Mount Mary, 25-10, setting up a fourth set where Ripon looked to stay in the game.
Refocusing after the Blue Angels' offensive barrage, Ripon played to their strengths as Mount Mary came back to Earth. Hitting .214 as a team, the Red Hawks took a comfortable 20-9 lead as Mount Mary found themselves now facing return issues. Sophomore
Addi Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin Lutheran HS) would force the fifth set for the hosts, putting away a final kill to give the Red Hawks a 25-15 fourth. The fifth set held close play between the teams, but Ripon came up with clutch plays, helped by two late service aces from Johnson and sophomore
Bryn Carlson (Green Lake, Wis., Ripon HS). Ripon secured their second win of the tournament 15-10 in the fifth.
The Blue Devils would prove even stiffer competition for the Red Hawks. The second game of the day started with a 14-8 UW-Stout lead, as Ripon again struggled to find consistent receptions against the strong serving Blue Devils. A final four kill run sealed the deal for Stout, who took the first set 25-17. The second set was more of the same; despite a 6-4 lead early from the Red Hawks, UW-Stout assembled an 11-of-12 point run to climb a 15-7 lead, maintaining separation to the 20-14 point. From there, Kast and Johnson would combine for late kill runs to push the Red Hawks back into set contention, as Ripon held a 23-22 lead. Unfortunately, UW-Stout would a pair of kills late, and a final Ripon error ended a competitive second 25-23. The third set would get away from the Red Hawks, as the hot-hitting Blue Devils sustained .571 hitting as a team to win the match 25-7.
Ripon volleyball returns to action this Wednesday, September 23, at home against Alverno College. Alverno enters the game 2-8 this season after a 3-set loss to Illinois Tech. Wednesday's home contest marks the Ripon volleyball program's Faculty Appreciation Night, where each player will honor a Faculty member noted for their support.
