Box Score

DePERE, Wis. - Ripon's season came to an end Friday night with a three-set loss to St. Norbert in the first round of the Midwest Conference Tournament. The Red Hawks kept each set close in the early moments, before losing all three 15-25, 16-25, 16-25. That marks the fourth time the Green Knights defeated the Red Hawks this season, with two of the other three also coming in straight sets.

Ripon (11-19) was led by Anna Alvin's 11 kills, giving her 382 for the year, which ranks fifth in school history for a single season. That also moves the junior into sixth on the school's career kills list. Christy Looker added seven kills against the Green Knights (23-9), as she finishes a brilliant career that ends with her name in the top 10 in school history for total attempts (2,891), service aces (116) and digs (986). Fellow senior Sara Heim finished Friday's match with a team-high 17 digs, giving her 661 for the season, which falls just five short of the school record for a single season. Heim finishes her career with a school record 2,398 digs. Junior Alison Ernst recorded a team-high of 20 assists against St. Norbert, giving her 764 for the season and moving her into sixth on Ripon's career list, with one season to play.

The Green Knights were very balanced, as they did not have a single player with double-digit kills. Lauren Meehan led the way with eight, while Sarah Sulentic recorded six and Sam Jungbluth chipped in with six. Lara Ayello set them up nicely with a game-high 27 assists, while Catherine Guido registered a game-high 20 digs. St. Norbert was also strong at the net all game, recording nine total team blocks, while Ripon failed to record a single block. Danielle Remy led SNC with four blocks (two solo and two assists).

St. Norbert will now move on to play Beloit College in the MWC Championship game with a trip to the NCAA playoffs on the line. Beloit defeated Grinnell in three sets in Friday's other semi-final. The Championship game will take place at 1 p.m. in DePere, Wis.