ST. LOUIS -- Ridgewater fought its way to the championship match of the Meramec Invitational Saturday, but the Lady Warriors fell to Shawnee Community College 25-20, 25-21 in the final to take second place.
The Lady Warriors, the only NJCAA Division III team in the field, opened the tournament by winning two matches Friday. Ridgewater then won its first winner's bracket match on Saturday morning before falling to Independence CC in three games to fall into the loser's bracket.
Ridgewater responded by winning three matches to reach the championship. By winning six matches the Lady Warriors improved their overall record to 24-4.
At one point Saturday Ridgewater played five consecutive matches with little or no breaks, according to Ridgewater coach Joe Sussenguth.
"It was a physical and mental challenge that we responded very well to," said Sussenguth. I'm very proud of how we played and responded to a demanding tournament."
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Emily Roelike led Ridgewater with 56 kills with Macy McKay added 43 and Stephanie Tillman 41. Darcie Listul chalked up 162 assists and Brianna Jacobson had 11 ace blocks and eight ace serves. Roelike also had 77 digs with Brandi Bodin following with 70.
Ridgewater is at St. Cloud Technical College today for a MCAC Southern Division match.
Team scores
Ridgewater def. Lindenwood Gold JV 25-19, 25-18
Ridgewater def. Independence CC 25-18, 25-19
Ridgewater def. College of Lake County CC 25-21, 25-18
Independence CC def. Ridgewater 25-19, 20-25, 15-12
Ridgewater def. Lindenwood Black JV 27-25, 25-16
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Ridgewater def. Meramec CC 25-16, 25-16
Ridgewater def. Independence CC 25-27, 25-20, 15-8
Championship
Shawnee CC def. Ridgewater 25-20, 25-21
How Ridgewater Fared
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Serving: Stephanie Tillman 42-49-4, Abby Halter 2-2-0, Emma Koeberl 2-2-1, Darcie Listul 72-84-6, Emily Roelike 36-37-0, Missy Deal 2-2-0, Brandi Bodin 25-26-2, Karie Blommel 70-73-5, Alison Mason 2-2-0, Chelsey Gniffke 3-3-0, Cassie Edwards 4-4-0, Macy McKay 56-58-5, Brianna Jacobson 33-38-8 ... Setting (assists): Tillman 3, Listul 162, Roelike 2, Bodin 1, Jonica Swanson 1, Maggie Zirk 6, Edwards 13, McKay 5, Jacobson 1 ... Hitting: Tillman 84-95-41, Halter 13-16-3, Listul 3-5-1, Roelike 126-139-56, Deal 1-1-1, Bodin 1-1-0, Blommel 103-116-34, Mason 4-6-2, Zirk 7-8-4, McKay 96-106-43, Jacobson 76-90-27 ... Blocking (aces): Tillman 9, Roelike 1, Mason 1, Zirk 1, McKay 4, Jacobson 11 ... Digs: Tillman 11, Halter 3, Listul 26, Roelike 77, Bodin 70, Swanson 1, Blommel 55, Zirk 2, Edwards 3, McKay 39, Jacobson 8
