Ripon Christian volleyball heads to D-III semifinals with thrilling win over Central Catholic
The Ripon Christian volleyball team lost nearly its whole starting lineup to graduation last season, which meant a completely new team would take the court for the program with back-to-back state championships.
This year’s team has just two seniors to go along with eight juniors and five sophomores, and not many players had varsity experience. The Knights still pulled out a regular season with 17 wins, 15 losses and a third-place finish in the Trans-Valley League.
But the playoffs are a different game. Momentum swings are magnified and experience matters.
So down two sets in the biggest game of the season, it’s only right the Knights went to their only returner in the lineup, middle Brynn Bohn.
Bohn tallied 18 kills on 22 attempts to lead the Knights’ five-set comeback win over Central Catholic in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III volleyball quarterfinals. After falling behind two sets, the Knights stormed back, winning the next three in a 14-25, 24-26, 25-7, 25-12, 15-8 victory.
“It shows what she’s capable of,” Ripon Christian coach Kayla Kootrstra said. “She’s been solid for us all year, but tonight, she really took the team on her shoulders, if you will, when we needed it offensively. For her to go 18 kills on 22 attempts is like otherworldly, but we needed that offensive production tonight.”
The Knights advance to the D-III semifinals, where they will travel to No. 1 Vanden on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Bohn said before the season that she wanted to step into more of a leadership role, and her play Thursday night showed that she can play her best when the team needs it. She gained confidence from last year’s senior class and she wanted to pass that onto this year’s less experienced team on and off the court.
The junior’s 18 kills were a career high and just the fourth time in her varsity career she tallied double-digit kills.
“I think it’s a good connection with my setter. I trust Alanna (Blanco) a lot, I love her,” Bohn said. “(I was) just seeing the holes on the court and being smart with the ball and disciplined with my footwork, my timing and seeing where their blockers and passers were and where I am on the court.”
The Raiders jumped out to a two-set lead but the momentum shifted with the third set. The Knights took an early 12-5 lead. They then went on a 6-0 run led by four aces from Anneke Dyt to take an 18-5 lead and force a Central Catholic timeout.
“I don’t know that we’ve rebounded from down two sets all year,” Kootstra said. “So I was just really proud of how they responded tonight, and that we didn’t ever give up. We were able to take some momentum and buckle down and clean up our play in that third set.”
Kootstra said the Knights improved their passing, which led to better opportunities for their middles, who have been a strength for them all season. Bohn’s career high and eight kills from Haley Kootstra helped set up hitters Paige Van Hofwegen (11 kills) and Morgan Schenk (6 kills).
“It was really trusting each other,” Bohn said. “Both of us middles have worked hard at being diverse with where we hit and that’s been a hard thing for both of us. But Alanna’s been great at getting us good balls. … It’s good to get the middles engaged because it’s harder to react to that as a defense.”
Bohn had kills on three of their final six points in the third set and Van Hofwegen had the clinching kill to secure a 25-7 third-set win. From that point, momentum was on the Knights’ side. They took 15-9 and 19-11 leads in the fourth set. They outscored the Raiders 8-1 to end the set. The Knights never trailed in the fifth set. They went ahead 11-7 late and, after a Raiders timeout, won the match with a 4-1 run.
“We have the capability of playing with really good teams, and so I’m glad that they’re showcasing that now,” Kootstra said. “I think we’re playing good volleyball at the right time. It’s exciting for them that we get to move on, and they get to continue to show what they’re capable of doing, and hopefully we continue to make a run.”
CENTRAL CATHOLIC GOT UP EARLY
The Raiders took control of the set early, playing at their speed and finding ways to keep momentum on their side.
Central Catholic took a 13-8 lead in the opening. By the middle of the frame, they were in complete control. They used a 7-1 run later in the set to extend their lead to 21-11 and coasted to a first-set win.
No matter how many times the Knights tried to pull away in the second set, Central Catholic found a way to claw back. The set had nine ties and saw the Knights take a 21-19 lead late. A big block to tie the set at 24 and an ace by senior Hannah Tillery to take a 25-24 lead helped the Raiders seal the set and take a 2-0 lead.
“We just started off with a really good pace,” said Raiders’ coach Michelle Springmeyer. “We had a lot of momentum. We really applied what we were working on the last few practices, and it was really paying off. Just coming with that energy level was great. Defensively, just staying really solid on our feet worked really well for us.”
The next three sets, the Knights flipped momentum. The middle attack from Bohn and Haley Kootstra proved tough. But Springmeyer is proud of the way the Raiders continued to fight when everything seemed to be going Ripon Christian’s way. Back-to-back kills by Czyleah Pabustan and Alyssa Thomas tied the final frame at four and the Raiders trailed by just two late in the set.
“Every game matters at this point, but you want that for your girls, and you want them to know that they left it all on the court,” Springmeyer said, “and truly, we did. They really did. They worked so hard all season to get to this point and to gel like that, and they did a great job.”
Volleyball Playoffs
Division I
No. 3 St. Mary’s 3, No. 6 Pitman 0: The Pride’s season came to an end in the D-I section quarterfinals with a 25-23, 25-13, 25-17 loss. Pitman finishes the season 29-7 and a perfect 10-0 in Central California Athletic League play.
Division III
No. 3 Roseville 3, No. 6 Escalon 0: Escalon put up a fight on the road against a top three seed in Division III but fell 25-20, 25-24, 25-16. The Cougars finished the season 12-13 overall and 3-9 in Trans-Valley League play.
Division IV
No. 1 Ripon 3, No. 8 Union Mine 0: Ripon swept its second opponent in as many matches in the 2024 postseason to advance to the Division IV semifinals. Ripon was dominant once again, beating the Diamondbacks 25-12, 25-12, 25-12. Junior Adriana Dorn and sophomore Jorie Eskes led the way offensively with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Alayna Sprinkle had a team-high seven aces and Katelyn Bogetti had 29 assists.Ripon plays No. 4 Bear River in the semifinals.
No. 3 Hilmar 3, No. 6 El Dorado 0: The No. 3 Yellowjackets secure their second playoff sweep in as many matches, beating El Dorado 25-21, 25-19, 25-7 to advance to the D-IV semifinals. After hosting two playoff games, Hilmar hits the road to take on No. 2 Liberty Ranch Tuesday.
No. 2 Liberty Ranch 3, No. 10 Hughson 0: The Huskies fell on the road to the second-ranked team in Division IV, finishing the season with a 15-14 record and a 4-8 Trans-Valley League record.
Division V
No. 1 Big Valley Christian 3, No. 9 Denair 0: The Lions earned their 27th win this season with their second sweep in the 2024 postseason. They beat the Coyotes 25-6, 25-16, 25-21 to advance to the semifinals, The Lions take on Mother Lode League opponent Bret Harte in the semifinals. Big Valley Christian took both matchups during the regular season and won a combined 6 sets to 1.
Flag Football Playoffs
Division IV
No. 5 Escalon 12, No. 4 Sacramento Adventist 7: Despite being the lower seed, the Cougars hosted the Capitals for the D-IV quarterfinals and pulled out a narrow victory courtesy of a second half touchdown. The Cougars trailed 7-6 heading into halftime but scored the only touchdown of the second half to claim the victory. Rebecca Wampler and Mia Arteaga scored Escalon’s touchdowns. The Cougars face No. 1 Colfax in next week’s semifinals.
No.3 Orestimba 34, No. 11 Destiny Christian Academy 0: The Warriors shut out their second straight playoff opponent in the Division IV section quarterfinals Thursday. It is win 21 for the Warriors, who finished tied with Hughson and Escalon tied for the TVL title. The Warriors host Hughson next Wednesday in the semifinals.
No. 7 Hughson 24, No. 15 Hilmar 14: Hilmar forced Hughson’s Leah Hobby into an interception, but the junior overcame the hiccup, leading the Huskies past the Yellowjackets for the third time this season with a 225-yard, four touchdown night on 18-of-32 passing. Presley Wells caught two touchdown passes on offense and had two interceptions on defense and Peyton Avila added a pick. Morgan Bleakley and Raegan Barstow each caught a touchdown pass. The Huskies travel to No. 3 Orestimba for the section semifinals Nov. 6.
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 11:48 AM.
