Ripley dropped to 7-4 on Thursday, ending the team's three-game streak of wins at home. They fell just short of the St. Albans Red Dragons by a score of 2-1. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Red Dragons this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 2-1 two weeks ago.
Braylinn Lutz paced Ripley's offense, picking up 11 kills. Lutz got some help from Kaydence Sheppard and her 15 assists. Addison Howery controlled things from the service line, finishing with five aces.
As for St. Albans, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. While they didn't have the best season last year (they finished 13-31-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
St. Albans found their leader in sophomore Ellah Smith, who had six blocks and three digs. With that strong performance, Smith is now averaging an impressive 2.1 blocks per game. Another player making a difference was Adriana Taylor, who had seven digs and five assists.
Coincidentally, Ripley and St. Albans will both be playing Nicholas County the next time they take the court. The Vikings will host the Grizzlies at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, while the Red Dragons will play them later in the day, at 7:00 p.m.
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