The Republic Lady Tigers pushed one of the state’s best teams to the brink Saturday, before settling for second place at the Helias Tournament in Jefferson City. Republic fell in the finals to the host Lady Crusaders in a long, back-and-forth match, 22-25, 25-21, 24-26.
Republic had cruised through pool play without dropping a set, dispatching Kirksville (25-9, 25-13), O’Fallon Christian (25-12, 25-10), Calvary Lutheran (25-15, 25-17), and Fatima (25-19, 25-17).
In the semifinals, Republic beat Lindbergh 25-19, 13-25, 25-21. They scored six of the last nine points to advance to the finals against Helias.
In the first game of the final, Helias jumped out to a 20-15 lead before Republic clawed back to within a point, at 22-23. But the Lady Crusaders won the next two points to take game. The second game was close most of the way. With the teams tied at 20, Republic rattled off five of the next six points to tie the match.
The Lady Tigers jumped on top in the third game, and looked like they might be on their way to the tournament title when they led by as many as five points. But Helias closed the gap, and eventually retook the lead at 17-16. The teams traded point until a close line call went against the Lady Tigers and swung the momentum back to Helias. The game was tied at 23, and again at 24, before Helias won two points in a row to clinch the victory, 26-24.
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