RIPON — Jocelyn Benziger figured that her Ripon Christian girls volleyball team had a tough draw for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs.
After a first-round bye, the second-seeded Knights welcomed dangerous No. 7 seed Vacaville Christian on Thursday and lost, 20-25, 22-25, 17-25. It may appear to be an upset on the surface, but both squads entered the quarterfinal match with mirroring records and were not too far apart in MaxPreps rankings.
They’re also two of the most successful small-school programs in the SJS — Ripon Christian owns a section-high 15 titles while the Falcons captured all three of theirs in 2013-15.
“They definitely have always been competitive,” Benziger said. “I knew they had a couple of kids who were really solid. They have talent we have seen but not talent we see on a regular basis.
“It’s hard to swallow seeing a team like that for our first match as the second seed.”
That doesn’t mean Ripon Christian (19-11) was outmatched, it just couldn’t match the more consistent play of Vacaville Christian on this night.
The Knights were on their game at the start, shooting out to a 6-0 lead with senior Mackenzie Miller getting two kills and a block.
“They just weren’t playing how we normally play,” Vacaville Christian coach Carla Borges said. “I had to call a few timeouts to remind them who they were and what they are about.”
Senior outside hitter Megan Stanek, Tory Velval and Sarah Elledge helped jump start Vacaville Christian (20-10). Velval had back-to-back aces early on, Stanek had seven of her match-high 18 kills in the opening set and Elledge came up with two straight solo blocks and then a third that gave the Falcons a 17-13 lead and forced Ripon Christian to burn its first timeout.
“It’s huge to have everyone get involved,” Borges said. “We have more than just one hitter, we have many hitters, a setter who dumps and great serving and passing. When they move on the court together it’s like a dance, and they were dancing tonight.”
Vacaville Christian came back again to win Game 2.
Ripon Christian rallied for six consecutive points and a 20-14 advantage. The Falcons countered with a four-point service run from Elledge, who had an ace, while middle hitter Jianna Lindsay emerged to help put them over the top. Lindsay had a block to close VC in 20-19 and a tip to tie it at 21-21.
Vacaville took the lead for good on a Stanek kill, and Lindsay put away the final point with a spike on an overpass. Lindsay also ended the first game with a kill.
“There was one specific rotation that hurt us, and it would always be up against a pretty solid server,” Benziger said. “It definitely allowed the momentum to shift their way and once they had it they were able to relax more on the other side of the court.”
The Knights again started strong in Game 3, leading 5-1. It was back and forth from there until another kill from Stanek gave Vacaville Christian the lead for good at 12-11. Ripon Christian could not get its mojo back as a bevy of unforced errors began to mount.
Jillian Petnicki, who finished with 25 assists, dropped two setter dumps that helped the Falcons open up a 22-14 lead at one point, and it was the largest margin of the match. While it was Stanek who delivered the big blows throughout, Petnicki was instrumental in keeping the Ripon Christian defense off balance with a varied attack.
“Their setter is very good and makes smart choices,” Benziger said. “She made it hard for us to adjust sometimes.”
Vacaville Christian heads to No. 3 Western Sierra Collegiate Academy (19-5) of Rocklin in the semifinal round next Tuesday.
Seniors Renae Heida (five kills, three digs), Taylor Alger (four assists), Taylor Anema (two blocks), Grace Van Vliet (three digs), Megan Bos (two aces) and Miller (five kills, two blocks) played their final match for Ripon Christian.
Morgan Van Elderen contributed three kills, three blocks and 10 assists. Freshman middle Emily Van Groningen collected five kills, and Lauren Braga had five digs, three aces.
“It’s definitely emotional,” Benziger said. “It will be tricky to continue the same kind of energy that this group brought. They had a light-heartedness about them, but at the same time they work hard. If we can replicate that for years to come I think we’ll continue to see some growth in the program.”