Republic led 13-11 in the fifth set Wednesday, two points from the district semifinals, but Branson won six of the last eight points and ended the Lady Tigers’ season 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 20-25, 17-15 in the Class 5 District 5 quarterfinals.
Branson scored three straight points to go up 14-13, and Republic tied it at 14 and again at 15 before the Pirates won the last two points of the night.
Republic was the No. 5 seed and Branson the No. 4, and the Lady Tigers had beaten Branson 3-1 on the Pirates’ court Sept. 1. The first set had 10 ties. Branson took a 22-21 lead on a block, and Republic won four of the last five points, with Addyson Warner serving at set point and Rylee Dishman ending it with a kill.
Branson led 6-1 and 9-3 in the second set. Reese Finley had a kill and an ace in a run of four straight Republic points that cut the lead to 11-9, but Branson scored the next six and won 25-17.
Audrey Pearce opened the third set with two straight aces, and Republic led 4-0. Branson went ahead 8-7 and led 17-10 before Republic scored 10 of the next 12 points, including back-to-back kills by Finley that tied it at 19. Republic went up 20-19, and Branson won five straight points on its way to a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Kate Mitchell had a kill and a block in the first three points of the fourth set and served an ace for a 6-3 lead. Branson’s only lead came at 12-11, and Rylee Vent tied it with a kill. Finley had four kills as Republic went from 15-13 to 22-15, and after Branson scored four in a row to get within 22-19, Pearce and McKinley Bell had kills on the last two points to force a fifth set.
Game page →Mitchell and Finley had Republic’s first four kills of the fifth set, and the Lady Tigers led 7-5. Branson went up 10-8, and kills by Dishman and Bell tied it at 10, then knocked down another kill to put Republic up 13-11 before Branson came back to close it out.
The match was the last for seniors Reese Finley, Kate Mitchell and Addyson Warner.
Republic finished 16-12 and won the Central Ozark Conference West outright, its first conference title since 2011.
Branson (24-9-2) plays Ozark (27-6) in the district semifinals Saturday at noon at Republic.
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