Ridgewater starts out strong

ROCHESTER -- A two-week layoff did nothing to diminish the skills of the Ridgewater College volleyball team.

The No. 1 seed at the national tournament went 8-1 the first day to gain today's semifinals.

"We came out ready to play," said coach Joe Sussenguth. "I think we the girls were a little hungry."

The top four seeds at Rochester Community and Technical College reached the final four. No. 2 Central Lakes College of Brainerd will meet No. 4 Edison in the other semifinal.

Also at 10 a.m., the Lady Warriors (32-8) will play No. 3 Brookhaven College of Dallas, Texas.

"We're taller but they are very quick," said Sussenguth. "They're explosive, as fast off offense as we've seen this season."

Brookhaven's modest 25-22 record reflects a regular-season schedule made up mainly of NJCAA Division I and II schools.

Two things marked the Lady Warriors' first-day play: "Balance and a killer instincht."

"We were consistent all the way across the board, and we blocked well," said Sussenguth. "The contributions came from up and down the lineup."

Also, in each match, the defending champions came out and establish the tone early, something they had seldom done all season.

Perhaps it is the sophomore leadership with four players back from last year's team: Ashley Hennen, Hilary Groothuis, Jenna Olson and Jackie Noyes.

"They've got an edge to them," said Sussenguth of his team. "They're not really nervous or especially relaxed. I just feel good about where they are at."

The third-place game is at 12:30 p.m. but all four squads are thinking the championship tilt at 3 p.m. is where they want to be.

Ridgewater 3, Catawba 0

The Lady Warriors' control along the dividing line was total: Leah Miller and and Jordan Olerud had seven kills each, Hilary Groothuis eight, Brittany TerWisscha six and Jackie Noyes five. The No. 8 seed from Hickory, N.C., couldn't find enough defense to stop all those weapons and never was able to mount a scoring march on the defending champions. Ashley Hennen paced the defense with 10 digs and also served up four aces. Leah Miller belted 22 serves without an error. The game was a rematch of last year's opener, also won by Ridgewater 3-0.

Catawba Valley (18-5) 14 17 15

Ridgewater (30-8) 30 30 30

(Key: good-attempts-aces)

Catawba Valley

No statistics available

Ridgewater

Serving: Brittany TerWisscha 7-9-3, Kari Caspers 3-4-1, Leah Miller 22-22-1, Ashley Hennen 16-19-4, Jordan Olerud 13-14-2, Carina Fesenmaier 4-7-1, Kaitlyn Griffin 4-4-0, Ashley Schmeling 1-2-0, Hilary Groothuis 6-6-0... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 27 ... Hitting: TerWisshca 11-12-6, Caspers 4-4-1, Miller 17-18-7, Hennen 5-5-1, Olerud 14-15-7, Fesenmaier 6-6-3, Griffin 11-13-4, Jackie Noyes 17-18-5, Groothuis 11-12-8... Blocking (aces): Noyes 3, Groothuis 3, Miller 2, Schmeling 1, TerWisscha 1 .... Digs: Miller 6, Hennen 10, Jenna Olson 3, Olerud 7, Fesenmaier 2, Griffin 2

Ridgewater 3, Rock Valley 0

The Minnesota champions sent a message in the first game roughing up the squad from Rockville, Ill., 30-10. Outside hitter Brittany TerWisscha stepped up with 13 kills. Carina Fesenmaier set the table with 33 assists.

Rock Valley (32-16) 10 22 24

Ridgewater (31-8) 30 30 30

(Key: good-attempts-aces)

Rock Valley

No statistics available

Ridgewater

Serving: Brittany TerWisscha 7-7-1, Leah Miller 13-13-1, Ashley Hennen 17-18-1, Jordan Olerud 7-11-0, Carina Fesenmaier 16-16-1, Kaitlyn Griffin 3-3-0, Hilary Groothuis 11-13-1... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 33... Hitting: TerWisshca 22-24-13, Miller 15-19-7, Hennen 2-2-0, Olerud 20-21-7, Fesenmaier 10-10-5, Jackie Noyes 16-16-3, Groothuis 17-19-10... Blocking (aces): Olerud 2, Noyes 2, Groothuis 1, Miller 1, TerWisscha 1 .... Digs: Miller 6, Hennen 11, Jenna Olson 5, Olerud 8, Fesenmaier 6, Groothuis 5 2, TerWisscha 2

Ridgewater 2, Edison 1

This was a rematch of last year's championship match won by Ridgewater 3-0. This time Edison, from Pique, Ohio, took the third game 30-17. Fesenmaier was perfect on 16 serves and delivered 33 assists for points. TerWisscha and Groothuis, both over six-foot tall, had 23 kills combined.

Edison CC (19-11) 22 25 30

Ridgewater (32-8) 30 30 17

(Key: good-attempts-aces)

Edison CC

No statistics available

Ridgewater

Serving: Brittany TerWisscha 9-9-0, Kari Caspers 1-1-0, Leah Miller 7-8-0, Ashley Hennen 11-12-1, Jenna Olson 1-1-0, Jordan Olerud 21-24-1, Carina Fesenmaier 8-11-0, Kaitlyn Griffin 2-2-0, Rachel Marks 1-1-0, Hilary Groothuis 6-7-0... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 27... Hitting: TerWisshca 15-15-8, Caspers 5-5-3, Miller 22-23-8, Hennen 3-4-0, Olerud 21-27-6, Fesenmaier 16-16-3, Kaitlyn Griffin 7-7-2, Dani Stein 5-5-2, Jackie Noyes 10-10--5, Ashley Schmeling 3-4-0, Groothuis 14-14-8 ... Blocking (aces): Olerud 1, Noyes 3, Groothuis 6, Miller 1, TerWisscha 1 .... Digs: Miller 5, Hennen 11, Jenna Olson 6, Olerud 8, Griffin 5, TerWisscha 4