The aggressive play of visiting no. 3 Christian Brothers was just too much for second-seeded Ripon Christian, as the Falcons battled back from a 23-25 first-set loss to win the next three 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III girls volleyball semifinal win.

They will advance to the finals Saturday afternoon at 3 against top-seeded Ripon at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

Both teams now await the NorCal pairings to be announced on Sunday.

Paige Van Hofwegen paced the Knights (22-11) with 15 digs and 12 kills. Morgan Schenk added 14 digs, eight kills, two aces and a block, Brynn Bohn 12 kills and two aces, Haley Kootstra eight kills and a block and Alanna Blanco 45 assists.

“A loss like this is tough, especially so close to the section finals,” Ripon Christian coach Kayla Kootstra said. “Having said that, like I told the girls, we made it to a D-III section semifinal and lost against a very good team. We don’t have anything to hang our heads about, because they earned that win.

“I thought we had moments where we could have responded differently, but I was proud for how we battled, and I am hoping we can use what happened for motivation, because our season is not over yet. One thing is for sure, their No. 3 (Simone Huarte) is the real deal.”

Huarte led a blistering attack for Christian Brothers (19-14) with 21 kills and was flanked by teammate Isabella Alvarez with 20 digs.

“Our team played like a unit,” Falcons coach Taylor Jacky said. “There was no selfishness happening out there they trusted their training. They just relied on each other and believed they were supposed to be here and just played hard.

“It was just incredible to watch.”

After winning the first set on Paige Van Hofwegen’s kill, Ripon Christian battled in the second set through numerous ties and never led in the third with the Falcons closing out that set on a 5-2 run.

The Knights did not trail in the fourth set until 22-23 as Christian Brothers scored the final five points of the night for the win.