RIPON — Dani Erdelatz came up big for Ripon Christian on Wednesday night.
The Knights senior tallied 18 kills – including four of the last six Knights points in the second game and the match ender in game 3 – to lead Ripon Christian to a 25-20, 28-26, 25-22 sweep of visiting Manteca in non-league volleyball action.
“We had a big middle on us,” Erdelatz said. “But our middle was good with the way we covered and the way we hit.”
After being pushed to the limit by the Buffaloes (0-1) in Game 2, the Knights (3-1) were unable to pull away in the third game that saw 15 ties and 10 lead changes.
“You have to give credit to Manteca,” Ripon Christian coach Kara Ledeboer said. “They ran down every ball and they were scrappy. They made us work for it.
“We had to dig deep in the middle of the third game.”
“Our offense was on tonight,” Ledeboer said. “Dani (Erdelatz) was on and she helped us out a lot. We look to her for her leadership and she did a good job.”
In the second game Manteca had game point twice but could not pull the trigger.
“We had a couple of game points in that second game,” Buffaloes coach Kevin Bolding said. “We battled and that is what we are looking for right now in pre-season.
“We are playing some good teams trying to get ready for league.”
Elisabeth Regusci made 37 assists for the Knights. Makenna Koslosky had 26 digs, Elise Regusci three aces and Julia Ray two blocks.
Beth Aschenbrenner had 27 assists for the Buffaloes. Alyssa Burch added 16 kills and five blocks, Morgan Miramontes eight kills and Summer Kirby seven digs.
Sophomore
Manteca 2, Ripon Christian 0
The Buffaloes won the first game 25-18 and fought off a spirited charge by the Knights to win the second game 26-24.
Karisha Rubio had 18 assists for Manteca and Tawny Deerink had 13 kills. Destanie Elliott and Sarah Inderbitzen played well as middle blockers for the Buffaloes.
Beth Weststeyn had four kills and three aces for the Knights and freshman teammate Paige Vos had three kills
Freshman
Ripon Christian 2, Manteca 1
The Knights bounced back to win after losing the first match 19-25 to win the next tow 25-23, 15-8.
Sydney McMurray and Bethany Silveira took turns setting for Ripon Christian and Kelly Engel had a good game serving for the Knights.
Rhiannon Genilla had multiple kills for the Buffaloes while Taylor Reed and Destani Henricksen were the team’s setters.
