The Ripon Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the St. Mary Catholic Zephyrs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Ripon took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over Clintonville. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Truckers: they've now won four in a row.
Among those leading the charge was Rayna Trochinski, who had 18 digs and three aces. That's the most aces she has posted since back in September.
Meanwhile, St. Mary Catholic posted their closest victory since October 4th on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Weyauwega-Fremont, sneaking past 3-2.
St. Mary Catholic took Weyauwega-Fremont into a fifth set where they got it done with a seven-point win. The match finished with set scores of 21-25, 25-18, 25-22, 24-26, 15-8.
St. Mary Catholic's win came from a few key players Ripon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Bitsy McCauley, who had 15 digs and one assist. She is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 11 or more in each of the last six games she's played. Another player making a difference was Emily Weiss, who had 14 assists and five digs.
Ripon's record is now 21-22. As for St. Mary Catholic, their record now sits at 24-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Ripon has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5 aces per game. However, it's not like St. Mary Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Ripon came up short against St. Mary Catholic in their previous meeting back in September of 2024, falling 2-0. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
