Ripon Christian’s Paige Van Hofwegen reeled off the final eight points of the night Thursday to cement Ripon Christian’s 25-21, 25-7, 25-15 non-league volleyball win over visiting Stone Ridge Christian.
“Tough serving can take them out of system,” Van Hofwegen said. “And then we can score points better.”
The run by Van Hofwegen (six kills, four aces) followed a four-point service spurt by Alanna Blanco which put Ripon Christian (5-1) ahead for good at 15-13, getting Ripon Christian heading in the right direction when it had strayed from time to time. Ripon Christian was outscored 16-9 to close out the first set and battled through three ties in the third set before pulling away.
“I would say tonight was not our best night,” Ripon Christian coach Kayla Kootstra said. “But we still managed to come out with the win. Sometimes, grit and determination come when you are not playing great volleyball and you still have to find ways to get the ball back and put the ball away.
“I thought there was some toughness I saw at times and also some things we need to continue to work on. But it’s early in the season and we are hoping we will go on an upward trend.
When Blanco wasn’t standing out at the service line she was dishing out 28 assists.
“The passes were really good today,” Blanco said. “I really trust my teammates.
“This is a good team, and the hitters really know how to put the ball away.”
Alyssa Hofman dominated the net for Ripon Christian with 10 kills.
“When you get the set, you have to be smart with where you put the ball, how you play it and make sure you execute well.” Hofman said.
Libero Bella Blanco patrolled the back row for Ripon Christian with 12 digs.
“It’s all about getting every ball up with no hesitation,” Blanco said. “At first we were a little shaky, but we got in the rhythm of it and communicated.”
Stone Ridge Christian drops to 1-3.
Ripon Christian travels to Turlock to face Pitman on Tuesday night at 6:30.
Junior varsity
Ripon Christian 2, Stone Ridge Christian 0
Ripon Christian rolled to a 25-9, 25-6 sweep led by Dani Barbour’s 10 kills and Brooklyn Postma’s 11 assists and four digs.
