NEWMAN — Ripon Christian held off defending Southern Athletic League champion Orestimba 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22 on the road Tuesday.
The win also keeps the Knights (6-1, 11-7 overall) one match behind SAL-leading Le Grand.
Although they dropped the second set, their confidence never wavered  after falling behind by as much as 12 and cutting the deficit to two.
“The girls played well and never gave up,” Ripon Christian coach Jocelyn Benziger said. “Even they lost set 2, it gave them the momentum going into the rest of the match and confidence with what needed to be done to win. They played smart and found some of the holes.”
Makenzie Miller paced Ripon Christian’s balanced offense with 12 kills and two aces. Emily Van Groningen chipped in nine kills, Renae Heida added eight and Megan Bos (four kills) finished with six.
Taylor Alger and Morgan Van Elderen shared setting duties, handing out 15 and 10 assists, respectively. Lauren Braga led the defense with nine digs.

Manteca 3, W. Ranch 0
STOCKTON — Manteca (5-1, 13-3) ended the first half of the Valley Oak League schedule with a 25-5, 25-8, 25-14 rout of the Cougars (1-5, 11-7).
There were many contributors for the Buffaloes in the win. Payton Reis pounded 11 kills to lead all players, while setters Kacy Bolding (11 digs, 10 assists, 17 points, four aces) and Kaitlyn Morenzone (22 assists, 10 digs, 13 points, three aces) added eight and five, respectively.
Kaylee MacDannald served 20 points to go with four kills and seven digs. Karlie Spohn recorded five kills, and Therese Ferral had three with four digs and two assists.

Ripon 3, Modesto Christian 0
SALIDA — The Indians (5-1, 11-4) got stronger as the Trans-Valley League match progressed on Monday, rolling to a 25-17, 25-12, 25-8 sweep.
Rachel Sausedo led them with 13 assists, two kills and two aces. Jordynn Russell tallied five kills, five digs and three aces. Sydney Thomason contributed a team-high nine kills with two aces.
Ripon next heads to first-place Hilmar tonight.

Junior varsity
Manteca 2, Weston Ranch 0
STOCKTON — Ari Chandler accumulated 11 service points, eight assists and five kills to help the Buffaloes (2-4 VOL, 8-4 overall) sweep, 25-14, 25-19.
Sydnee Navarro contributed five kills and five assists. Kim Yu (six points) and Hannah Ender tagged three kills each.

Ripon Christian 2, Orestimba 1
NEWMAN — The Knights (6-1 SAL, 9-5 overall) battled back to upend Orestimba, 23-25, 25-14, 15-8.
Natasha Smith spearheaded the attack with five kills, while Samantha Anema and Adrianna Arias had four apiece. Natasha Smith served four aces, and Maclaira Camper had three.