Republic volleyball coach Allison Davis knew her Lady Tigers would face adversity against top-seeded Kickapoo during their district semifinal. The key, she told her players, was how they responded.
After a strong start, the adversity came as expected, and so did the response — but a little too late to make a difference in a four-set Kickapoo win, 22-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-20.
“We knew Kickapoo was going to be a good competitor. We knew they were going to get kills… get aces… and block us. It was about how we were going to recover from those situations,” said Davis. “We didn’t recover as quickly as I would have liked, and by the time (we did) in a couple of those sets, it was too late.”
Republic started strong with a first-set win, 25-22. After falling behind by four points early, the Lady Tigers rallied to tie the score 14-14. From an 18-18 tie, Republic won four straight, only to have Kickapoo win three consecutive points, cutting Republic’s lead to 22-21. From there, Republic won three of the last four points to take the first set.
Kickapoo asserted itself in the second set, jumping to a 12-4 lead. Republic got as close as five points, but never any closer, and the Lady Chiefs evened the match 1-1 with a 25-19 second-set victory.
The third set was all Kickapoo. With Republic on top 5-3, the Lady Chiefs scored eight of the next nine points to take control. Another eight-point run later in the set led to a lopsided 25-12 score and gave Kickapoo a 2-1 lead.
Davis said moments of hesitation cost the Lady Tigers on several points, and those lapses were too much to overcome against a team as good as Kickapoo. “In the second and third set, we had errors that were our fault… and against a team like this, the amount of errors has to be zero.”
Republic looked down and out in the fourth, falling behind 7-2, but fought back with five straight points to tie the score. Kickapoo edged ahead again, and Republic stayed close, but missed a couple of chances to tie the score late in the set, eventually losing 25-20.
The match was the last for Republic seniors Brooklyn Claxton, Addison Fanning, Rilynn Finley, Aubrey Haynes, Lexi Mitchell, and Alaina Norman.
“What they’ve brought to this program is just priceless. They’re going to be a hard group to replace, and not just skill-wise. The skill is there, obviously, but just the type of kids they are. They’re great kids and they’ve meant a lot to this program,” Davis said.
The loss ended Republic’s season with a 24-6 record. The Lady Tigers won 50 matches during the last two seasons, and had a higher winning percentage this year than last year, when they 26-10.
“We have come a long way in the last five years…and it’s exciting,” Davis said. “We’re getting respected in our conference and our district more, and that’s what excites me for the future.”