The Lady Tigers volleyball team avenged an earlier loss to Springfield Glendale, and they did it when it counted most. Republic, seeded fifth, overcame a slow start to edge fourth-seeded Glendale in a closely contested match, 26-24, 23-25, 25-10, 25-23, in the first round of the district tournament at Waynesville Saturday.
Republic trailed by five points in the first set when Glendale took a 14-9 lead. A time out by coach Allison Davis led to a side-out, followed by three more points on Addison Fanning’s serve. The Lady Tigers scored eight of the next ten points to take the lead 17-16. Glendale had a set point at 24-23, but Republic won three points in a row to take a 1-0 lead.
“We came out that first set a little shaky. I think we played pretty tense. I don’t even know if we were really nervous,” said Davis. “We just knew what the stakes were for this game. I was super proud of that first set, that they were able to pick themselves out of that hole and dig themselves out.”
The second set was Glendale’s turn to come from behind. Republic led by as many as six points, 12-6, but the Falcons chipped away at the lead, tying the score 14-14. Republic pulled ahead by four again, 20-16, thanks to the solid service of Reese Frey, but Glendale won 10 of the last 13 points to take the set and even the score 1-1.
The third set was the only lopsided score of the match. Republic jumped out to an 11-2 lead and won 25-10. David said her team may have relaxed after winning the second set, losing some intensity to let Glendale back into the match. After losing the second set, her players re-focused in the third.
“After what happened in that second set, they knew what they wanted today. We’ve been talking about… what happened when we played them the first time, and what we wanted to accomplish going into districts when it really mattered. And this is what they wanted. They wanted that revenge on Glendale.”
Finishing the match wasn’t easy, but Republic fought through a close fourth set to clinch the win. The score was tied 15 times, and neither team led by more than two points throughout the set. But from a 23-23 tie, Republic won two consecutive points to put the game away.
Rilynn Finley had 22 kills for Republic, while Alaina Norman was also in double figures with 14. Reese Finley led the team with 33 assists, followed by Brooklyn Claxton’s 27.
Defensively, Rilynn Finley had 22 digs to lead the team. Reese Frey had 19. Adison Gibbs led Republic with five blocks.
The win pushes Republic’s record to 24-5. Glendale finished its season at 22-7.
The Lady Tigers advance to the district semifinal against top-seeded Kickapoo (30-4) Monday night at 5:00 p.m. Kickapoo beat Republic in five sets during the first week of the regular season.