Div. IV: Ripon Christian (35-6) (Sac-Joaquin Section) d. Central Valley Christian (26-15) (Central Section), 25-19, 27-25, 25-17, Saturday, 11 a.m.
Ripon Christian turned around sizeable deficits in the first two sets, then started fast in the third to sweep Central Valley Christian early Saturday afternoon in Orange.
Serve and pass, as it often is, keyed the victory for the Knights, who used several long-serving runs to score points in bunches.
“Serving has been a strong point of our game all season,” said Ripon Christian head coach Kayla Kootstra. “We were able to get some great service runs and push points. Our consistency in serve helped us get here and helped us win.”
The title was the first for Ripon Christian and second all-time since the Knights won state initially in 1999. Kootstra and assistant coach Melissa Blanco were players on that team.
“I think it’s almost more fulfilling as a coach to watch these kids develop,” Kootstra said. “Doing this as a player and a coach is kind of special, but it comes down to this group of girls and what they were able to accomplish this year.”
Central Valley Christian, a school in Visalia, was making its third finals appearance and in search of its first-ever title. The Cavaliers got off to a fast start and looked like much the better team behind the hitting of physical outsides Karlee De Groot and Lilinoe Spencer and the setting and serving of Sophia Fields.
CVC had four runs of three or more points in building an imposing 16-10 Game 1 lead.
Ripon Christian wasn’t fazed, because the team was in a familiar spot.
“Every single one of our NorCal matches, we played from down quite a bit and had to battle to come back,” Kootstra noted. “Why we do that is anyone’s guess. But it’s not unfamiliar to us. I’m proud that our girls were able to dig deep and fight back.”
Ripon Christian’s rally started with a CVC hitting error. With OH Avery McMurray serving and playing strong in the back row along with libero Leah Van Wyngarden, the Knights scored eight points in a row to take the lead, capped by Jordan Vander Veen’s kill off a bump set from Megan Weststeyn.
Central Valley Christian scored a point on a net violation to break the run, only to see Ripon Christian rattle off five points in a row to build a 24-17 advantage. Vander Veen, one of the state’s kill leaders, showed off her live arm to start the second streak and Van Wyngarden was a beast, whether serving aces or battling through tears and sore elbows to keep balls off of the floor.
“When you get an ace it’s nice and it gives you momentum,” she said. “And it’s very empowering,” she added. “Definitely very empowering. “We don’t do well when we can get frustrated with each other. When you bring joy to the court it helps.”
CVC started quickly in Game 2, appearing determined to be in a hurry to even the match at a set apiece. After yielding the first point on a serving error, the Cavaliers got kills from Spencer, De Groot, and Alli Van Hulzen and blocking from Van Hulzen and Erika Vander Maarl to build a 5-1 lead. CVC grew its advantage to 11-5 on a great tip out of the middle from Lola Highstreet and Fields’ heady dump to the donut.
Central Valley Christian was unable, however, to sustain its high level of play throughout the set. Cavalier errors aided Ripon Christian’s comeback. The Knights got three kills from Vander Veen, a kill and ace from McMurray, a kill out of the middle from Sydney Hoffman (who elevates!), a kill on the right from Ava Van Groningen (whose cousin, Grace, is the CVC libero) and an ace from Taylor Postma in pulling to within 16-15.
Unlike the first set, CVC bowed its neck and fought to keep its lead. De Groot’s seam rocket and ace serve, plus a joust win courtesy of the Fields/Highstreet combo, put CVC up four, a lead that looked like it might be big enough after Vander Maarl’s definitive block made it 21-17 Cavaliers.
Ripon Christian had one more rally in it. It started with a Hoffman kill and continued for five more points on the serve of Van Wyngarden. Van Wyngarden also was everywhere on defense and even had a bump set assist during the run to Vander Veen, who had four kills in a row to help the Knights go ahead.
“When our passing is on and our setting is on all I can think about is putting the ball away to increase our lead,” Vander Veen said.
Vander Veen’s ninth kill of the set gave Ripon Christian a set point at 24-23, but CVC proved resilient. The Cavaliers fought off one set point on a Van Hulzen kill and another on a stunning De Groot solo block to end a tense rally where Ripon Christian had multiple swings to break through to close out the set.
Alas, CVC could not win the ultimate point and, when Hoffman came through with a big block of her own, instead of the match being knotted at a set apiece, Ripon Christian was up two sets to none and just one more set win from a dogpile.
Ripon Christian apparently was anxious to end it, because, with Van Wyngarden serving, and acing, again, the Knights rolled to a 13-3 lead.
“Their libero was an effective server for them,” said CVC coach Mike Kroeze. “She kept us out of system just enough for us not to be able to get the set we wanted.”
“We came out strong in the third set,” Kootstra declared. “We showed today what we’ve been able to do all season. We battled. We were determined not to lose that second set. It was just back and forth, back and forth. I think our ability to pull out a tight game win took the wind out of their sails a little bit because they were a very good team.”
Central Valley Christian got as close as 14-10 with a nice rally that included successive Chanelle Vander Poel aces, but Ripon Christian steadied behind a Vander Veen ace and her hustle play to keep up a ball near the media tables. McMurray had two late kills and Hoffman one before Vander Veen closed out the sweep with her 20th kill of the match.
De Groot had eight kills and hit .333, with two aces and two blocks, to lead Central Valley Christian. Vander Maarl and Van Hulzen were bright spots at the net, combining for six kills and nine blocks. Grace Van Groningen recorded 12 digs and Fields had 19 assists and two aces.
“We started off rough, but for us to be in the state finals is pretty dog gone cool,” said Kroeze. “I never would have guessed when watching the state finals last year that we would have been here this year. You guys kept improving. That, to me, feels like mission accomplished as coaches. We came up short today against a good team but I couldn’t be prouder to be here.”
Weststeyn had 30 assists and six digs to complement Vander Veen’s big day for Ripon Christian. Hoffman added six kills and five blocks. Van Groningen contributed five kills, eight digs, and two blocks. Van Wyngarden and McMurray teamed for 21 digs and eight aces.
“I’m proud of the girls for how we came back when we were down,” Kootstra said. “We were able to take some of the energy and momentum in that third set to come out with the win.”