Revenge is sweet, and a district title is even sweeter. The Republic Lady Tigers got both Wednesday night, when they beat Nixa to capture the district championship, 28-26 18-25 25-14. Nixa had defeated Republic in two close games earlier in the season.
The Lady Tigers jumped on top early in Game 1, leading 13-8. But Nixa scored five points in a row to tie it up, and the game stayed close the rest of the way. The Lady Eagles had two game points, but served the ball into the net both times, leaving an opening that Republic capitalized on, taking the first game 28-26.
In Game 2, it was Nixa who took an early lead, with Republic fighting back. With the game tied 16-16, the Lady Eagles won 9 of the next 11 points to even the match, 25-18.
In the decisive Game 3, Republic built a one-point lead, at 9-8, to a 16-10 lead during a decisive run. The Lady Tigers held on from there to capture the championship and move on to sectionals.
Republic will travel to Jefferson City for the next round of the playoffs Saturday. They’ll play the Jefferson City Jays at 3 pm. The winner of that match competes in the state quarterfinals at 6 pm.
First-year Coach Piper Wright credits the leadership of her players, along with the work of previous coach Katie Kreimer, for helping her achieve a district title in her first year.
“I’ve been blessed to inherit not only an awesome team, but an awesome program, 7th (grade) all the way up,” said Wright. “The work that was done before me made it so much easier on me to build from that.
“They’re phenomenal athletes, and excellent players. Very smart, and very mentally tough.”
Lexi Birlew led Republic with nine kills. Briana Goforth and Alex Botkin had eight apiece, and Nicole Hallam contributed seven. Sarah Kreul had 35 assists, and Goforth led the Lady Tigers with 16 digs.
“This is our second year in this district, and last year we were beat out in the first round, so I think it really says something that in our second year we were able to come back and win,” said Goforth. “I think it shows that Republic isn’t the underdog in this district anymore.”
Before knocking off Nixa, Republic earned its spot in the district finals by crushing Carthage 25-14 25-15.