For 2 1/2 sets, Republic stayed with a powerful Carthage team at home Tuesday, but a rough stretch in the third set allowed Carthage to sneak away with a victory, 25-19 20-25 25-17.
The Lady Tigers got 11 assists apiece from Mikayla Botkin and Lynn Kreul, and had nine kills from Brooke Stanfield. After dropping the first set, Republic fought back, jumping on Carthage early in the second. Carthage closed a seven-point lead down to three at one time, but Republic put the game away to force a winner-take-all third.
The first 20 points of the final set were even, and that’s when Carthage went on a run. The visitors won several straight points, pushing their lead to eight, and cruised from there.
Carthage improved to 16-2-1 this season. They’re 1-0 in the COC.
Republic is 5-7-1. They’re 0-1 in the conference.
The Republic JV won their game 25-20 25-13. The freshmen lost 26-28 21-25.
