The
Ripon Christian (Ripon) volleyball team repeated as CIF champions on Saturday with a 26-24, 25-19, 25-15 sweep of
Redwood (Visalia) on Saturday at Santiago Canyon College to win the Division III title. Last year, the Knights won the Division IV crown.
"We came into the season with a goal of repeating as state champions," Knights coach Kayla Kootstra said. "But I told the girls a lot would depend on where they (the CIF) put us."
Kootstra was referring to the competitive equity model that will boost successful programs into a higher division. Ripon Christian, a Division V school in the Sac-Joaquin Section, won D III in 2022 with a 35-6 record. This year they went 37-5 in their title quest.
"It's crazy," Kootstra said. "It's so hard (to repeat)."
In order to get to championship the Knights had to dig deep in the first set against the Rangers on Saturday. They were trailing 24-22 after a
Taylor Mcelree kill for the Rangers.
Ripon Christian beat Redwood 3-0 to win its second straight CIF volleyball title. The Knights won the Division III crown one year after a D-IV title. (Photo: Gerardo Coronado)
Redwood got a phenomenal pancake from libero Devyn Casteneda, but the ball fell to the floor in between three other Rangers for a 24-23 score. On the next point
Jordan Vander Veen hammered home one of her 15 kills to pull the Knights even. Two Redwood hitting errors gave the set to Ripon Christian.
"When we were in the first I think they felt like we could do this, but there were too many errors," Redwood coach Alana Montgomery said. "We didn't play our best but we put our whole heart in it."
Once they had a first-set win in hand, Kootstra, who won the other Ripon Christian state title in 1999 as a player, said her team really settled in.
"We played less tentatively," she said.
In addition to Vander Veen, the Knights found
Leah Van Wyngarden, a libero last season who finished the match with a team-high 15 kills, and middle blocker
Sydney Hoffman, who added six kills.
