New-Look Lady Tigers Iron Out Wrinkles at Jamboree

After losing six seniors off year’s volleyball team, the Lady Tigers have a lot of learning to do as they begin 2015. The learning started at the pre-season jamboree in Republic Tuesday night, when the Lady Tigers played Rogersville, Fair Grove, and Parkview. Republic won five out of six sets for the night.

The Republic lineup is the youngest since Piper Wright has been head coach, featuring three underclassmen (Eryn Russell, Lauren O’Hara, and Bella Drennan) in the rotation along with returnees that include Brooke Stanfield and Mikayla Botkin, who saw the most time on varsity last season. Wright says the jamboree is an important opportunity for her players to continue getting accustomed to playing with each other in a game situation.

“The first set, you could tell there were all sorts of jitters, for myself too,” Wright says. “That’s what this jamboree is for, is to get that stuff out of the way, make mistakes, and get your nervousness out…in front of people. I was pleased.”

Stanfield showed flashes of domination up front, both blocking and hitting. The Lady Tigers struggled, though, getting the ball where they needed it offensively at times.

“The serve receive…is something that can be improved. We’re not where we could be and where we should be,” Wright says. “Once we can get that on, we can be in system all the time, and we have some really phenomenal hitters. We’ve had some really good connections tonight, so if we can get that consistent, I’ll be pleased.

“I’m proud of the girls for the fact that we are still making an aggressive attempt on balls that are not great in-system balls. That’s definitely an encouragement,” Wright says.

Republic split two sets with Rogersville, winning the first 25-21 and losing the second 25-20.  The Lady Tigers swept Fair Grove 25-19 27-25, and swept Parkview 25-19 25-18.

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