Throughout this difficult season, Republic volleyball coach Piper Wright has insisted her team is still good enough to make a run late in the season. Thursday night, they proved her right. Republic played an aggressive, attacking game from the beginning and knocked off #8 Nixa in two sets, 25-18 25-23.
“It’s absolutely huge,” coach Piper Wright says of the win. “We’ve had such a tough schedule and we’ve taken some losses early on. Your confidence can get really low. This is where the benefit of playing all those really good teams starts to show.”
Republic was outsized by Nixa, who boasts 6’2″ outside hitter Aubrey Cheffey. But Wright says her Lady Tigers did a good job of neutralizing Cheffey.
“Aubrey Cheffey is huge outside and just does an excellent job blocking, and has one of the best swings you’ll see in this whole area,” Wright says. “One of the things we did well was siding out quickly when she was on the front row, and taking advantage when she was on the back row.”
After a back-and-forth start, Republic pulled away in the first set. In the second set, Republic jumped on top early, but Nixa clawed its way back in. The set was tied 23-23 before Republic won the last two points to clinch the victory.
Watch the final points, including the clincher:
Michayla Shanks had a huge night for the Lady Tigers with eight kills and three blocks. Rowan Page Brennan led the defense with 11 digs, and Brooke Stanfield also had three blocks. Emily Preston had 16 assists for Republic.
“I’m super proud of them. They came out with confidence. They came out believing that we could win and that we would win, and obviously that showed in our scores,” says Wright.
Republic improves to 5-8-2 overall, and 3-1 in the Central Ozark Conference.
Junior Varsity: 22-25 Nixa, 25-22 Republic, 13-15 Nixa
Freshman: 25-22, 25-22 Republic