Republic withstood a furious rally by Nixa in the decisive third game to win the district championship, 22-25 25-15 25-23. The Lady Tigers led 20-12 in the third game, but Nixa stormed back to tie it at 23 apiece. Republic, a team that has weathered close matches all season long, answered with two straight points to take the title.
After Republic took a 24-23 lead, Nixa called timeout. Piper Wright says she didn’t give a big speech to her team in the final huddle.
“All I said was, ‘One point, and we’re district champs again. And that’s about all it took. They started screaming, and that was it. They took care of the ball.”
Brandy Glessner says the team was confident at the end, despite having squandered a big lead.
“(We said) ‘Guys, we have this. We have to keep the focus on every little move we make. This is our game.'”
Check back later for more details and video highlights! I’m posting this before I drive home.