Ripon Christian has been more competitive against Trans Valley League opponents than the results have shown, the Knights have just had trouble finishing sets.
They busted out of that slump in a big way on Tuesday, putting together their best effort of the season with a 20-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-12 win over reigning Division V state champion Hilmar.
Coming into the match, Ripon Christian (2-4, 9-10 overall) had dropped four straight in TVL play, winning just one of 13 sets against Escalon, Hughson, Ripon and Sonora.
“We’ve been close in all of our matches,” RC coach Kayla Kootstra said. “We battle with people, we get to the 20s, and tonight we got to 20 and I finally told them, ‘Twenty is my least favorite number in the whole world,’ but you can’t only play to 20.
“After that, I feel like we finally all just settled in, and they found a rhythm that works for them tonight.”
The Knights had five players with at least five kills led by Annika Jung’s 13.
Opposite hitter Alyssa Hofman was an all-around standout with 12 kills, four blocks, 15 digs and 11 service points that include five aces. She had a hand in four of the final six points scored in the match — a kill, a combined block with Maddie Sabala (five kills) and two aces.
“We just needed to dig deep,” Hofman said. “We knew we could do it, we just needed to believe in ourselves. I feel like once we started getting in the flow of things, we could just put balls away and come together as a team.”
The turning point of the match came in the second set after Ripon Christian opened up an early 8-2 lead. The Yellowjackets (3-3, 13-13) battled back to tie it at 13-13 on Emily Barroso’s tip.
The Knights answered with Eden Danhoff’s kill, and Hofman later came through with a kill and an ace for back-to-back points for a 20-16 lead.
Hilmar did not go away easily and even recaptured the advantage at 22-21.
Ripon Christian again responded, securing the set with two straight kills from Danhoff. The Knights only continued to level up from there, dominating the final two games.
“That’s huge, because that hasn’t been what we’ve been doing up until this point,” Kootstra said. “I think they needed to get over that hump, keep climbing that hill and come down the other side and actually finish. I was proud of them for finishing that set, and I think that helped give them the confidence we needed to roll into sets 3 and 4.”
Rhian Heuvel recorded 20 assists and 11 digs, while Brooklynn Postma pitched in 18 assists, five digs and a block. Middle blocker Kylie Koolhaas contributed eight kills and three blocks. Danhoff had six kills. Lauren Mouw tallied 23 digs, 13 service points and two assists.
Hilmar got nine kills apiece from its towering tandem of the 6-foot-3 Barroso and 6-2 Reese Ahlem. Bree Perry added seven kills.
“The energy was there, the execution was there and it wasn’t just one person,” Kootstra said. “We got to kind of diversify what we were doing, and that’s huge for us. It was good to see them build that confidence that we are capable of playing like that, and now just continue to grow on that for the second half of league.”
Ripon Christian hosts Orestimba on Thursday.
