Ripon Christian went to its best hitter to put away a game and talented Beyer team Friday in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinal.
The sixth-seeded Patriots made Mason Tameling work for that final point, digging the first attempt. Setter Daniel Lambdin did not hesitate to go right back to him, and Beyer could not handle the second hit, as the No. 3 Knights held on for the well-contested 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23 victory.
They’ll head to Yuba City next Tuesday for a rematch with No. 2 seed River Valley (29-7).
“I’m always kind of looking to see if I can set Mason — he’s a great hitter,” Lambdin said. “I love setting him, and he puts it away most of the time. I mean, those passes were just over there; it would have been difficult to set the other positions. So, I just went back to him.”
Tameling finished with a team-high 16 kills, six digs, two aces and a solo stuff, but the difference for Ripon Christian (25-9) was its pin-to-pin balance.
Right-side hitter Isaiah Vander Woude blasted 15 kills to go with eight digs and two blocks, while 6-foot-5 middle blocker Darren Van Groningen added 14 kills, three blocks and two aces. Lambdin handed out 46 assists and three blocks.
Beyer (21-8) countered with sophomore Brett Bird’s match-best 21 kills and 15 from Luke Rossi.
The Patriots did not have an answer for Van Groningen in the early going, as he crushed of his kills in the first set.
“Darren was huge tonight,” RC coach Kevin Tameling said. “He was a difference maker, and he has that ability. I’m proud of him for coming out and playing that way and having that intensity.
“Teams know about Mason and Isaiah at the pins, so they were really keying in on them, and then all of the sudden Darren comes out and he’s getting it done in the middle. Really proud of him and all the other guys.”
Reagan Sauer contributed with three kills, including the clinching point of game 2. Freshman Grant Wentworth had one kill and four blocks, two of them solo.
Ripon Christian started slowly in the second and third sets, and it wound up hurting the Knights in the latter.
Beyer shot out to a 14-6 lead in game 3, but RC managed to come back and tie the score our times. Bird tallied the Patriots’ final three points of the set on kills.
“I think we just got stuck in a couple of rotations that weren’t working too well for us, and they kept feeding certain players,” Van Groningen said. “We came together in the end, made some changes and started passing better.”
Beyer carried the momentum into the fourth set, scoring the first five points in emphatic fashion — a kill from Rossi, a combined block from Skyler Redd and Rossi, an ace from Cruz Hibbard, a solo block from Redd and a kill from Jordan Sao Rodriguez.
Ripon Christian again dug itself out of the hole and took a 15-14 lead thanks to an errant set from the Patriots. Mason Tameling served an ace for a 17-16 lead, and the Knights did not trail again from there.
“Our guys dug in, and I’m really proud of them,” coach Tameling said. “I don’t even know how we came back in the third set, which we lost.”
Ripon Christian is familiar with its semifinal opponent, having faced River Valley in its opening match of the Stockton Classic tournament on March 29. The Falcons, winners of 10 straight, prevailed, 25-21, 25-18.
“I don’t think we played well, but they’re a very good team,” Tameling said. “It’s going to be a tough match.”
No. 1 Vista del Lago (26-6) hosts No. 4 Christian Brothers (17-7) in the other semifinal.
