After 12 days off, it took the Lady Tigers volleyball team a while to warm up at Parkview Tuesday night. But when they did, they pulled away from the Vikings for a 25-15 25-22 victory.
“We played back and forth for the first half of the game, and I think we just kind of decided that this is the time to do it,” says coach Piper Wright. “Parkview’s a good team. They’re very scrappy. They get a lot of balls up, and they’re aggressive. You just can’t let them in. If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it quickly.”
The Lady Tigers trailed midway through the first set, but Bella Drennan took over and dominated Parkview from the service line. She was a big factor in Republic winning nine of the set’s last ten points.
“She was our ace leader last year. She was super aggressive,” Wright says of Drennan. “She goes back there with confidence, and she doesn’t just try to get it over and in. She goes for the ace and that’s what I love about her. It’s very intimidating to the other side.”
Drennan’s service game was a key factor in the second set as well, after Parkview took an early lead. She ended the night with eight service aces to go along with ten assists. Amber McCoy had ten assists, as well.
Taegan Thomas led Republic with six kills. Eryn Russell had 15 digs.
The freshman team won 25-18, 25-14. The JV Lady Tigers won 17-25 25-17 15-10.