Playing their 10th match in what has been a grueling eight-day stretch, the Ripon Indians found themselves locked in a 14-14 tie with visiting Sierra in the first set in a penultimate tune-up before starting Trans Valley League play.
The Indians (8-2) did what any well-coached, defending Sac-Joaquin Section champion would do, turning to their leader in outside hitter Adriana Dorn.
She racked up six of her 19 kills in the first set, as Ripon took the first set, 25-19. That turned momentum towards the Indians, who completed the straight set victory, 25-13, 25-14.
“We’ve been working on not starting slow and putting an emphasis on starting fast.,” Dorn said. “I definitely wanted to help us get going and was really happy to be able to do that tonight.”
Ripon head coach Gregory Soliz was pleased with how his team responded during the middle of such a grueling stretch of preseason play.
“It’s been a really busy week for us,” Soliz said. “We served the first ball into the net tonight, and it kind of got us off to a bad start. But we’re a resilient team, and we were able to start to string some passes together there late in that first set and really got us going.”
For Sierra (3-4) head coach Danielle Deerinck, the first set showed flashes of what the Timberwolves are capable of putting together as they head into Valley Oak League play Thursday.
“I thought we came out really good in the opening set,” Deerinck said. “They are a really good team and a really good test to see where we were at, and there are some positives to take away, most definitely.”
The Indians continued their strong play into the second set, as setter Alayna Sprinkle (36 assists) continued to find Ripon hitters, with junior Jorie Eskes with six of her 11 kills in the match to propel the Indians 25-13 to go up 2-0.
“Jorie was huge for us tonight,” Soliz said. “We’re lucky enough to have that depth on the outside, and Alayna did a really good job getting them involved tonight.
The Timberwolves showed resolve that will serve them well in conference play in the third set. Setters Danica and Danett Cesante were able to find outside hitter Delicia Kivalu-Ahio (four kills), helping keep the score close, finding themselves down 9-8 early on. After a quick timeout from the Indians, Sophomore outside hitter Ashlyn Malone helped right the ship, pounding home three of her nine kills to help Ripon pull away and finish the match with a 25-14 victory in the finale.
For Ripon, one final non-conference matchup will take place on Thursday as they host Big Valley Christian.
“I think we’re all really excited for league play to start,” Soliz said. “We’ll take things one game at a time, but this team knows what it takes to get through a tough TVL schedule.”
For Sierra, the first match of league play will be a tough one, as they host defending VOL champion Central Catholic also on Thursday night.
