Ripon Christian sweeps Central Valley Christian to win second state title
The Ripon Christian volleyball team was familiar with Saturday’s opponent.
The Knights opened the season against Central Valley Christian of Visalia in a nonleague sweep.
After being placed in Division IV of the CIF State Volleyball Championships and winning Northern and Southern California championships, the Knights and Cavaliers met again in the state championship at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.
It is the Knights’ second time in school history playing for a state title. Current coach Kayla Kootstra and her assistant coach Melissa Blanco helped earn a D-V championship in 1999.
Ripon Christian moved to 2-0 in CIF state championship matches, beating the Cavaliers on Saturday, 25-19, 27-25, 25-17.
“I don’t know if (playing earlier in the season) helps calm nerves because obviously it’s a State game, but I think when you beat a team before, there’s the knowledge deep down that you can beat this team.” Kootstra said.
The Knights have become accustomed to playing from behind, and that’s just how Saturday’s championship match started. Ripon Christian fell into 11-4 and 10-4 holes in the first and second sets, respectively, which seemingly gave the Cavaliers enough momentum to avoid another sweep at the hands of the rolling Knights.
Trailing 16-10 in the opening set, Ripon Christian found its stride. Three kills by Jordan Vander Veen spearheaded a 10-1 run that gave the Knights a 20-17 lead, forcing a Cavaliers timeout.
Forced to overcome a 21-17 Cavaliers lead, a kill from Sydney Hoffman and four kills from Vander Veen and a Leah Van Wyngarden ace gave the Knights a 6-0 run and 23-21 advantage.
Both runs led to wins and a 2-0 match advantage.
“It has seemed to be our M.O. in the playoffs,” Kootstra said of the slow start. “But we were able to find some pretty good serving and got high-level execution when we needed it. I was proud of the girls for digging in and not letting the fact that we were down take us out of the match.”
With momentum on their side and a state championship within grasp, Ripon Christian raced out to a 13-4 lead.
“It’s hard to battle for a set like that and then come back having lost and start with energy and momentum in the third,” Kootstra said. “Because we took that second set, I think we came out with the energy and the momentum in the third set that gave us the big lead right at the beginning.”
The Knights led by as much as 21-13, shaking off attempts to get back into the game. Just as in the Northern California regional final, Vander Veen ended the match with a kill, her 20th of the match.
Kootstra admits that winning as a player and a coach bring different feelings.
“I’m hopefully going to remember more of it as a coach than I did as a player,” she said jokingly. “But I think I just appreciate the whole process and watching these girls grow and come together as a team and just how special it is to come away with this state title. I think I just probably appreciate it a little bit more as a coach than I did as a player.”
The Knights, who ended the season on a 12-game win streak, graduate seven seniors but bring back half the team for next year’s run, including Vander Veen, Hoffman and setter Megan Weststeyn.
“This group of seniors that we had was a huge part of our success this year, so it’s not like we can replace them,” Kootstra said. “But it definitely helps having a solid core coming back has been part of the championship team.”
