The Ripon Indians swept the No. 4 seeded Tigers of Roseville 25-18, 25-15, and 25-16 on Tuesday to clinch their fourth straight appearance in a Sac-Joaquin Section title match, this time in Division III.
The 2023 Division IV final saw the Indians lose in straight sets to rival Ripon Christian, before coming back in 2024 to beat Liberty Ranch 3-0.
Ripon (28-4), looked every bit the part of the top seed that is yet to drop a set in the postseason from the opening serve.
“I was really happy with the energy we played with from the jump tonight,” Indians coach Gregory Soliz said. “We had a really good practice yesterday and laid out a game plan for our girls that they executed about as well as I could have hoped.”
Led by outside hitters Jorie Eskes (11 kills) and Adriana Dorn (19 kills), Ripon capitalized on strong defensive plays to keep rallies alive that allowed setter Alayna Sprinkle to find one of her many options to score for Ripon during the first set. After being up just 11-10 midway through the opener, Eskes and Dorn fueled a run for the Indians that helped them pull away and go up 1-0, 25-18.
“I told Alayna coming into the game that we saw some things watching tape from Roseville that would give her even more opportunities to keep them on their toes,” said Soliz. “She did a really good job distributing like she has all season long.”
Ripon was tested about as much as they have been through this 2025 postseason run early on by Roseville (22-12), which earned its high seed after a strong 11-1 finish and outright title in the Foothill Valley League.
Alexis Mitchell (eight kills) helped keep the Tigers in the second set that saw the visitors go up 6-5 and as close as 11-9. After a pair of key blocks from freshman middle blocker Elysa Meineke, the Indians went on a five-point scoring run with Eskes serving that helped Ripon take control and finish the set with a 25-15 victory.
“We were really strong defensively at the net all night, but especially in the second set,” Soliz said. “Elysa was feeling under the weather before the game but those instinctual plays she made were big in helping us turn momentum back to our side.”
The freshman Meineke wasn’t the only underclassman to show up big for the Indians in Tuesday’s semifinal. Sophomore outside hitter Ashlyn Malone capitalized on well-placed passes from Sprinkle in the third set for four of her nine kills in the match in the finale. Ripon yet again had to fight off the pesky Tigers in the third set after falling behind 4-1 early on. Once again, an Eskes service run would right the ship for the Trans Valley League champs, pulling away for the 25-16 win to complete the straight set victory and secure their place in Saturday’s final at Consumnes River College.
Ripon will face off against the 3 seed Christian Brothers, which earned its spot in the championship after defeating second seeded Ripon Christian 3-1 in the other semifinal. The winner-take-all matchup for the Division III crown will take place at 3 p.m.
For Dorn and the Indians, the eyes remain on the prize of hanging up another section championship banner no matter the opponent.
“This team is really hungry, and I think that showed in our play tonight” Dorn said. “We’ve been locked in throughout this run and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to compete for another championship on Saturday.”
