MODESTO — Top-seeded Ripon Christian never trailed Saturday in a 25-13, 25-11, 25-15 sweep of No. 2 Bret Harte for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V girls volleyball championship at Modesto Junior College.
“This just shows how hard these girls have worked and all the work they have put in,” Knights coach Kayla Kootstra said. “We started strong his year and then we had some ups and downs but now I think we are playing our best ball and that’s what you want to see as a coach.”
Ripon Christian (30-6) added another section banner to its record-setting 17.
“When we had the champions breakfast on Thursday, they were going through all the teams and I was not aware that Ripon Christian held the section record at 17,” Kootstra said.
Sydney Hoffman (nine kills, four blocks) got a kill to start the first set, end the first set, start the second and end the match.
“I am able to get those kills because of awesome sets from my setter (Megan Weststeyn) and the passes from the team,” Hoffman said.
As usual, Jordan Vander Veen paced the Knights offense with 13 kills along with 10 digs.
“I have said this before, but when we get in a rhythm with our passing and our setting our offense gets really easy,” Vander Veen said. “Our passing was really good today and that opened up a lot of doors for the offense.”
Leah Van Wyngarden was an offensive and defensive threat for Ripon Christian, posting 11 digs and four aces.
“It’s a lot of pressure to get your serves in,” Van Wyngarden said. “Your serves can get you a long ways in the game and they can get everyone motivated.
“As for the digs, you have to want the ball. If you want the ball, you can pass it fine and that sets up the setters for the hitters.”
Ava Van Groningen ripped off three consecutive aces in a five-point run in the second set for the Knights and she finished with five aces and a block.
“I just really work on placing the ball where I want it to go,” Van Groningen said. “And being smart about it.”
Weststeyn was kept busy, dishing out 36 assists.
The Bullfrogs from Angels Camp drop to 21-5 and along with Ripon Christian will await the announcement of the NorCal brackets from the State CIF office this afternoon. The tournament will begin Tuesday at 6 p.m.
