Ripon Christian made a drastic turnaround after dropping the first two sets and downed visiting Central Catholic 14-25, 24-26, 25-7, 25-12, 15-8 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs on Thursday.
The fourth-seeded Knights (19-15) and two-time reigning state champion have made it back to the California Interscholastic Federation Northern Regionals by advancing to the semifinal round. They’ll travel to No. 1 Vanden (24-10) next Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Ripon Christian’s middles keyed the comeback. Brynn Bohn blasted 18 kills on 22 attacks and had no errors, while Reagan Van Der Hoek came up with six blocks.
Outside hitter Paige Van Hofwegen netted 11 kills and 15 digs. Anneke Dyt served up four of her five aces in the dominant third set, while totaling 22 digs. Alanna Blanco facilitated the attack with 43 assists to go with four aces.
Ripon Christian previously faced the Valley Oak League champion Raiders (18-8) in a non-league match two months ago and won that in four sets.
Vista del Lago 3, Sierra 0
The seventh-seeded Timberwolves (19-12) could not overcome a slow start in the 13-25, 22-25, 18-25 sweep in Folsom.
Freshman outside hitter Delicia Kivalu-Ahio led them with nine kills, two blocks and two aces. Senior Sophia Threet pitched in eight kills.
Setter Cianna Leonardo racked up 12 assists, 12 digs and six service points. Gurjaap Kaur chipped in seven assists, and Ellis Denny had 10 digs.
No. 2 Vista del Lago (19-9) hosts No. 3 Roseville (22-13) in the semifinals next week.
Division IV
Ripon 3, Union Mine 0
Top-seeded Ripon (28-2) took care of business against the No. 8 Diamondbacks (19-7) from El Dorado, 25-12, 25-12 and 25-12.
Adrianna Dorn paced the Indians with 13 kills and four aces. Jorie Eskes added 12 kills, while Shayla McKeon had nine kills and two blocks.
Katleyn Bogetti distributed 29 assists. Alayna Sprinkle recorded seven aces and three digs. Emeri Lane pitched in four aces, and Amelia Lara tallied seven digs, four assists and two aces.
No. 4 Bear River (32-3) visits Ripon next Tuesday.
