Up two sets to none, Ripon left no doubt in its NorCal Regional opener on Tuesday.
After squeaking out the first two, the No. 3-seeded club in Division III dominated the third to complete the 25-21, 25-21, 25-10 sweep of San Francisco City Section champion Washington.
It’s Ripon’s first NorCal win since 2018 after going oh-fer in each of the past five seasons, and this one comes just three days after losing the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III final to Nevada Union in frustrating fashion.
“In my first two years on this team, we’ve lost in the first round of NorCals, so I think we’re finally proving something to ourselves that we’re capable of so much more,” Ripon outside hitter Ashlyn Malone said. “In practice, we work hard every day for moments like this, and now that we’re here, we want to take advantage of this opportunity and go harder.”
The junior led the Ripon attack with 12 kills to go with two aces, six digs and a block. Freshman Lilia Tuputala had eight of her 11 kills in the second set. She and sophomore middle Elysa Meineke contributed the blocks apiece to the defense.
Ripon’s three third-year seniors were also instrumental. Setter Alayna Sprinkle amassed 27 assists, 10 digs, 14 service points, four aces and 10 digs. Opposite hitter Jorie Eskes chipped in nine kills, seven digs, two blocks and two aces. Libero Kennedy Everhart accumulated 23 digs, six assists and two aces.
The result was satisfying not just because it ended the NorCal skid for Ripon (28-5), but it helped rid it of the bitter aftertaste of the section-final loss in which Nevada Union battled back from a two-set deficit to knock off the top seed.
“I think, especially with what happened on Saturday, it was like, we can’t come out flat (for the third set) — we have to step on their throat,” Sprinkle said. “We can’t let them up for air. I think it showed.”
Sprinkle started the final set on the service line and had an ace, as Ripon surged to a 5-0 lead. Malone scored the first two points with kills, and Eskes and Meineke later combined for a block.
Tuputala had a kill that prompted Washington coach Nga Tran to call for a timeout, as Ripon extended its lead to 10-2. The first 10-point lead of the match was established on an ace from Eskes.
While Ripon served aggressively all match, firing 11 aces, it had just three missed serves.
“We talked about (losing the section final) Monday in practice, and I told them all we can do is learn from that,” Ripon coach Greg Soliz said. “Learn from it, but it’s over. This is a new season, and maybe it was meant to happen so that we can be in this spot.”
The 14th-seeded Eagles (23-9) may have faded in the end, but they proved to be worthy adversaries at the outset.
A six-point service run that included three aces from Angie Lee vaulted Washington to an 18-16 lead in the opening set. Melrose Lam’s spike pushed the Eagles ahead 20-19, Sprinkle helped tilt the momentum back in Ripon’s favor with two setter dumps.
Washington jumped out to a 9-4 lead in game 2 before Tuputala came alive for Ripon. She put Ripon ahead for good at 14-13 with a kill and followed with another.
“We kind of knew what they were going to do defensively, so we worked on where we needed to go,” Soliz said. “We knew middle back would be open a lot, and the girls did well. They executed.”
Ripon will next host sixth-seeded Bullard (27-17) of Fresno in the quarterfinal round Thursday. The Central Section’s Division III runner-up downed No. 11 Roseville, 25-22, 25-15, 25-19.
