Wherever Vander Veen was on the court at Santiago Canyon College on Saturday, she made some big-time plays to help propel the Knights to another state championship.

Ripon Christian (37-5), the No. 13 seed in Northern California, swept SoCal No. 2 Redwood (36-7) of Visalia 26-24, 25-19, 25-15 for the California Interscholastic Federation Division III title.

It’s the second straight state championship for the Knights after they won it in Division IV last year and third overall (1999, Division V).

Vander Veen produced 11 kills, 20 digs, 13 service points and three aces in the final, coming through in several key moments.

Redwood had the opening set within its grasp with a 24-22 lead, but Vander Veen slugged back-to-back kills to keep the Knights in the fifth. A hitting error and double-hit violation from the Rangers handed game 1 to RC.

The second set was as back-and-forth as the first until Vander Veen landed another kill to make it 15-14. The Knights didn’t trail from there.

Ripon Christian started strong in game 3 thanks to a nine-point service run from Vander Veen, whose third ace in the sequence had the Knights well ahead, 13-4. She later delivered the final kill of the season for RC for a 23-13 advantage.

Also last week, Ripon Christian knocked off then-defending Division III state champion Archie Williams in San Anselmo. The Knights rolled to a 25-14, 25-16, 25-19 win in the NorCal final last Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Vander Veen led the way with 14 kills, 11 digs and 10 service points.