After two rough-and-tumble sets Wednesday night, host No. 2 Ripon Christian ran away with the third set and swept third-seeded Lathrop 25-17, 26-24, 25-15 in the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys volleyball playoffs.
Mason Tameling got game point in the second set on an ace and hammered out a kill for match point. Tameling finished with seven digs, six kills and three aces.
“It’s all about staying composed,” Tameling said. “You have to stay composed, stay calm and do what you can do. Don’t do anything outside of yourself.
“A big bounce kill from Grant (Wentworth) before that ace really kept the momentum going.”
Darren Van Groningen (six blocks, six kills) tallied four bit blocks in the second set for the Knights (24-14).
“I was able to block them,” Van Groningen said. “It was a little tough in the net tonight.”
Ian Brown was all over the back row for Ripon Christian with 19 digs.
“The block set things up,” Brown said. “It made it really easy for me to read where the ball was going. It was really a team effort.
“They had some good hitters, and I am glad that we have had good coaches who trained us well and taught us to work as a team.”
Daniel Lambdin dished out 33 assists for the Knights, Trevor Van Groningen hammered out eight kills and Wentworth chipped in seven digs and four kills.
Ripon Christian was down 17-12 in the second set and battled back to tie the score at 20-20 with ties at 21, 22, 23 and 2 before Tameling’s ace ended the set. In the third set there were no ties and the Knights never trailed.
“Momentum is a big thing in volleyball,” Ripon Christian coach Kevin Tameling said. “They are a solid team, they are very good and well-coached.
“We were down most of that second set, and coming back to win that was just a killer. That was a fantastic run for our boys pushing themselves there.”
Gabriel Fa’ali’i paced the Spartans (26-7) with 14 kills, four digs and a block followed by Andreis Ricaldi (five digs), Dylan Beltran (four digs), Marc Llorin (three kills, dig), Lorenzo Palomares (two kills, two digs) and Jorge Reyes (17 assists, three digs).
“I knew coming in this was going to be a tough task,” Lathrop coach Toa Fa’ali’i said. “My hat goes off to Ripon Christian. They are a great team.
“I can’t take anything away from my boys, as they had a great season.”
The Knights face top-seeded Beyer for the championship on Saturday at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento at 2 p.m.
