Republic’s three seniors led the way to a quick Senior Night sweep against Neosho Thursday. Republic beat Neosho 25-16, 25-12, 25-8 to improve to 20-7 overall and 2-0 in the Central Ozark Conference.
The Lady Tigers’ three seniors — Kailey Manes, Kaemyn Bekemeier, and Claire Esther — each led the team in at least one statistical category. Manes led Republic with ten kills and three blocks. Esther and Bekemeier tied for the team lead in digs, with 12 each. They also had two service aces apiece. Brooklyn Claxton led the team with 27 assists.
In her fourth season as head coach at Republic, coach Allison Davis said this senior class is “pretty special” to her.
“They’re the first group I’ve seen through the program all four years. And we got a great add-in last year with Claire,” she said. “These seniors have been a positive representation of this volleyball program on and off the court. They’re coachable, competitive, but kind to the younger kids in our program.
“I always tell the seniors, ‘What type of legacy do you want to leave? How do you want to be remembered?’ These three seniors are leading this team positively and the effects of that are evident,” Davis continued. “They’re just good kids . These past four years have flown by, and I can’t imagine not having them — but we still have a lot of season to enjoy these girls.”
Republic has won 20 games in a season for the first time since 2013. The varsity team is back in action at Joplin on September 27.
Republic’s JV team (25-14, 25-11) and freshman team (25-10, 25-18) also won Thursday. Both those teams will compete at a tournament in Branson this weekend.