FOND DU LAC - Marian University women's volleyball (2-7, 2-6 NACC) rallied after dropping the first two sets but fell to Ripon in five with set scores of 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 14-25, and 18-16.

The Sabres jumped out to an early 7-4 lead in set one but the Red Hawks were able to go on a 14-6 spurt and take an 18-13 lead.  The Sabres rallied from this deficit to tie the game at 22-22 but the Red Hawks then scored three straight to take the opening set.  Using that momentum, Ripon took a 7-3 advantage to open the second stanza.  This lead held out to a 19-14 advantage for the Red Hawks before a 6-1 spurt allowed Marian to tie the set at 20-20.  Once again, the set would be tied late at 23-23 but Ripon scored two straight to take a 2-0 lead.

Ripon held an early lead in set three as well at 11-9 before Marian went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 17-12 lead.  After Ripon cut the Marian lead down to 20-19, Marian closed out the set with a 5-1 run following a timeout.  The fourth set was all Marian as the Sabres hit .242 recording 11 kills with only three errors.  After a 5-5 start, Marian took control with an 11-1 run and cruised to a 25-14 lead to force a fifth set.

The Red Hawks once again had a strong start to the fifth set going ahead 9-4.  This lead led out to a 13-8 advantage where the Sabres were able to rally with a 6-1 run to tie the set at 14-14 and turn away one match-point opportunity.  Marian would be unable to earn a match-point opportunity and the Red Hawks were able to earn the victory on their fourth set-point opportunity of the set.

Marian recorded more kills than Ripon with a 53-51 advantage led by sophomore Monica Dreifuerst who had a match-high 17.  Senior Sara Komosa added 10 kills in her final match at home.  At the net, freshman Kaitlyn Merrill was dominant recording three solo blocks and five assisted blocks.  Sophomore Reagan Brown led the back row with a team-best 18 digs, while freshman Anna Tapia had 46 assists to go with two service aces and 12 digs.

Marian closes out the season tomorrow, Friday, April 16, at 7 p.m. traveling to Ripon to close out the non-conference series.