Republic started hot, but seemed to hit a wall at the Hillcrest Classic tournament over the weekend. The Lady Tigers won their first three matches without losing a set, running their record to 13-1 overall, before dropping three straight to finish fourth.
In pool play, Republic beat Branson, Glendale, and Joplin 2-0 to start the day, but lost to Lebanon — a team it had beaten a week ago — 2-0. That put Republic second in its pool going into bracket play.
The Lady Tigers lost to Webb City 1-3 in the opening bracket match, then lost to Camdenton — another team it had beaten previously — 1-3.