The Buccaneer volleyball team battled but fell to Ripon in a four-set contest Friday night in Flood Arena (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20).
Beloit trailed by as many as eight points, 16-8, but slowly chipped away to put the pressure on at the end. The Bucs pulled to within two late in the set but were unable to pull off the comeback. Ripon held the advantage throughout the majority of set two but it was close all the way through. The final points were dramatic as the final score would suggest. The Red Hawks had set point leading Beloit 24-23 when Ripon's outside hitter went up for an attack. The ball landed near the back line as the Bucs thought it was out, the line judge signaled the ball landed in but was then overruled by the head referee. Thinking they had taken a 2-0 lead in the match, Ripon called timeout to regroup and was able to tally the final two points of the set.
The Bucs turned the tables in set three and held the lead for most of the period. Ripon remained in striking distance but the Bucs held off a late run with
Eva Laun-Smith and
Molly Muller registering kills on two of the final three points to secure the set three win. The Red Hawks put together a few long runs to jump out to a 19-6 lead in set four but Beloit didn't fold. The Bucs came roaring back late in the set. Beloit scored 12 of the last 18 points but the gap was too large as Ripon held on for the win.
Beloit struggled offensively hitting under .150 for the first three sets of the match and just .123 for the game. Laun-Smith, Muller and Baran each recorded double figure kills with 13, 12 and 10 respectively. Defensively at the net, the Bucs outblocked the Red Hawks 12-7 led by
Regina Guehlstorf's five assist blocks. In the backcourt,
Jade Mosquera led Beloit with 27 digs and added a match-high three aces from the service line. Four more Bucs registered double figure digs including Baran (19), Laun-Smith (16),
Paige Wimbrow (13) and
Courtnie Thomas (11).
The Bucs will wrap up their home slate hosting Monmouth College Sunday at 1 p.m. Beloit's three seniors, Baran, Wimbrow and Muller, will be recognized following the match.
