Ripon Christian’s Jordan Vander Veen did not get to finish what started out as a productive sophomore season, which was derailed by a torn meniscus and fractured tibia late near the end of the Southern Athletic League schedule.

It only motivated her to come back even stronger this past fall, and the Knights went on to complete the task even after losing one of the top players in the region to graduation.

“It was pretty hard on me, just because I was having such a good season and it suddenly came to an end,” Vander Veen said of her truncated sophomore campaign. “I think it fired me up even more for this season. I was dying to play and was so excited for playoffs, because I didn’t get to play in a playoff game last year. So I came in with more hunger and wanted to make it far.”

Ripon Christian finished 35-6 and made it all the way to the final match in the California Interscholastic Federation state playoffs, even as the No. 9-seeded team in the Northern Regionals. Last year, the Knights went 36-6, bowed out in the second round of NorCal and bid farewell to graduating 6-foot-2 middle blocker Emily Van Groningen, who now plays at University of the Pacific.

“A lot of us had to step up,” Vander Veen said. “Obviously, Emily played a big role on the team. We still had set a goal for state, I know I did. We knew we could do it; it was just about convincing everyone else.”

Vander Veen took over as the go-to attacker and was a clutch performer, earning All-SAL MVP honors and a spot on the MaxPreps Underclass All-America Second Team.

She was among state leaders in multiple categories, finishing with the second most kills (566) and 20th most serving aces (113). Her 310 digs are 14th most in the SJS. Vander Veen takes pride in being a complete player.

“That’s a big thing for me,” she said. “It gives me a lot of momentum playing every aspect of the game. It goes hand in hand. When I’m hitting, I’ll have an idea where the defense is standing, and when I’m on defense in can read the hitter’s shoulders and anticipate where they’re going with it.”

Vander Veen raised her game to get the team through some of its most nerve-wracking moments. In the NorCal final against Head-Royce of Oakland, she racked up 10 of her 23 kills in the fourth set and four during Megan Weststeyn’s eight-point service run that put RC at match point. Vander Veen ended it with the last of her kills, as the Knights held on to win, 25-15, 25-19, 15-25, 25-21. They trailed 16-7 in Game 4.

Her late-match heroics didn’t end there. Ripon Christian claimed the Division IV state championship at Santiago Canyon College in Orange with a hard-earned 25-19, 27-25, 25-17 sweep of Visalia’s Central Valley Christian, the top seed out of the SoCal bracket.

The Knights started strong in the third set but began to lose steam after jumping ahead, 13-3. Leading 18-13, Ripon Christian regained momentum with the play of the match. The ball was headed toward the media table after an errant dig, and Vander Veen reacted quickly to keep it in play. She hustled past the sideline and dove with one arm fully stretched. The ball was sent over the net, and Avery McMurray completed the sequence with a kill on an overpass.

“I was not sure if I was getting to it,” Vander Veen said. “I just threw my arm up and got lucky.”

Later, it was Vander Veen who fittingly punctuated Ripon Christian’s magical ride of a postseason with a kill, her 19th of the match.

Slighted by its low seed, Ripon Christian rallied through the state playoffs with a chip on its shoulder. The Knights learned to embrace the journey every step of the way. It started with trips to San Francisco the first two rounds to meet — and beat — No. 8 Lowell and top-seeded Urban. In the semifinals, they battled back to stun No. 4 West Valley of Cottonwood 22-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-12 behind Vander Veen’s season-high 38 kills.

Ripon Christian logged about 775 roundtrip miles in the NorCal tournament and added another 720 for the CIF championship.

“Our coach (Kayla Kootstra) always emphasized the journey, not the outcome,” Vander Veen said. “And the journey was really fun. That’s honestly what I’ll remember most, is the drives with the girls to our matches and the rides back being super excited about a win. It was really fun travelling around with them. It made it even more enjoyable.”

How about a repeat? It will be tough to count these Knights out, even as they’re likely to get elevated to the more competitive Division IV in the SJS playoffs. All-SAL selections Sydney Hoffman, Leah Van Wyngarden and Megan Weststeyn are other junior starters returning, and they’ll be reinforced by players from a JV team that went 25-5 and ran the table in league.

“It was super exciting and really cool that I could do it my junior year,” Vander Veen said. “For next season, it’s going to be the same goal. Obviously, we’re going to have a lot of work to get back there, but we know the feeling of winning state and want to do it again.”

Here is the rest of the 2022 All-Area girls volleyball team:

CO-SETTERS OF THE YEAR

Rebecca Thomson, Sierra, Sr.

Fourth-year starter was the foundation piece to the Timberwolves’ historic season. Sierra (24-5) claimed its first-ever Valley Oak League championship and notched its first postseason victory. Thomson, headed to Arizona Christian, led the attack with 524 assists in the regular season and finished second on the team in serving aces (63) and digs (160). She also had 78 kills and 11 blocks.

S Megan Weststeyn, Ripon Christian, Jr.

On top of facilitating a balanced attack for the Division IV state champion Knights, the 6-foot Weststeyn was a presence at the net with her length. She racked up 1,115 assists (9.1 per set), which is sixth most in the state and No. 1 in the SJS. Weststeyn was also the block leader for Ripon Christian with 33 and added 41 kills, 35 aces and 126 digs.

LIBERO OF THE YEAR

Reagan Wilkerson, Ripon, Jr.

Wilkerson was the anchor for a scrappy back row that helped catapult the Indians (22-11) to the SJS Division IV championship.

She totaled an area-high 366 digs (3.5 per set) but also contributed 70 aces and 169 assists to the attack.

MIDDLE BLOCKER OF THE YEAR

Courtney Washburn, Manteca, Sr.

One of the few holdovers from the Buffaloes’ 2021 VOL co-championship team, the 6-1 Washburn led Manteca back to the postseason with 245 kills, 76 blocks (32 solo) and 26 aces.

OUTSIDE HITTER OF THE YEAR

Zoe Kossart, Sierra, Jr.

Kossart enjoyed a breakout campaign in which she paced the Timberwolves with 266 kills (4.0 per set) in the regular season. She was also one of the area’s top all-around producers with 141 digs and 65 aces.

ALL-AREA TEAM

L Jenna Dalen, Sierra, Sr.; S Kaya Whittaker, Ripon, Jr.; MB Sydney Hoffman, Ripon Christian, Jr.; MB Makenzie Loechler, Ripon, Sr.; OH Alaba Olaleye, Lathrop, Sr.; OH Avery McMurray, Ripon Christian, Sr.; OH Michaela Singh, Manteca, Jr.; RS Avery McKiernan, Ripon, Sr.; OPP Ava Van Groningen, Ripon Christian, Sr.