It is tough to lose at the game of volleyball when you never trail by two points or more.
After falling behind 0-2 to visiting No. 11 West Valley on Tuesday night, sixth-seeded Ripon Christian never trailed by more than a point until the third set when the Eagles led by two points once, only for the Knights to go on a 10-2 run and never look back in a 25-13, 25-18, 25-19 first-round Division IV NorCal win.
“You get to this level and every team is good,” Ripon Christian coach Kayla Kootstra said. “So, you have to bring good volleyball to the court, or you are not going to come away with the win.
“I was glad with how the girls handled the pressure and they played relaxed. It took us a little bit to get settled in, we felt that anxiousness and a little bit of excitement at the beginning, but once we got settled in we did a good job of playing all-around good volleyball.”
Alyssa Hofman paced the Knights (17-16) with 14 digs, seven kills and three aces.
“I think overall we played well as a team and we played together,” Hofman said. “We knew what we had to get done, and we executed it on the court.”
Ripon Christian’s Lauren Mouw added eight digs.
“I really think getting digs is just watching what is happening on the other side and setting up to make sure I am in the right spot,” Mouw said. “I need to keep it up for my teammates and make sure I can start the plays.”
Brooklyn Postma dished out 12 assists and tallied the lone block for the Knights.
“The assists came from good passing,” Postma said. “I think our passers did really well. Especially with serve-receive which was on tonight. We had aggressive defense which helped me place the ball where it needed to go.
“I was getting tooled in the beginning, and I finally came through with one block and that brought the energy.”
Ripon Christian’s Bailey Brayton chipped in six kills, Kylie Koolhaas five kills and Rhian Heuvel dished out 10 assists.
West Valley of Cottonwood dropped to 34-6.
The Knights take to the road Thursday to face third-seeded Santa Cruz (23-10) at 6 p.m.
