Alexis Edwards signed to play basketball with Southwest Baptist University. Edwards helped lead the Lady Tigers to the state quarterfinals last season, and will anchor the interior for Republic when she returns to the lineup after recovering from an offseason injury.

Three Republic volleyball players. Libero Mallory Long signed to play at Drury University, Nicole Hallam signed with Lindenwood University, and Briana Goforth will join Edwards at Southwest Baptist. All three players were part of the Republic volleyball program during one of its most successful stretches ever, including trips to the state quarterfinals twice in the past three seasons.

Softball player Breanna Hemphill also signed a letter of intent to play  at Southwest Baptist. She was part of back-to-back Final Four runs for the Lady Tigers during her career at Republic.

(Thanks to Rodger Wheeler, Republic Monitor, for supplying some of the photos!)

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The first set was close most of the way, with neither team leading by more than three points early. Republic appeared to take control when they took a 21-17 lead late in the set, but Ozark won seven of the next eight points to take the lead 24-22. Republic tied it up at 24 before Ozark grabbed the win.

In Set 2, Republic fell behind 5-1, and looked like they were in danger of being swept. But as they’ve done all year, the Lady Tigers came back from an early deficit. Republic outscored Ozark 22-10 to grab an eight-point lead, and evened the match with a 25-18 win.

Republic grabbed the early momentum in the deciding set, jumping on top 3-1, and eventually led 8-6, before Ozark took control. They scored three straight points to take the lead, and never trailed again. Ozark took advantage of its size to pull away, winning the final game 25-18.

Republic had moved into the quarterfinals by beating host Jefferson City in the sectional round earlier Saturday, 25-18 25-19.

The Lady Tigers end their season with a record of 30-6-3.

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Update: Live coverage continues with the quarterfinals around 6 p.m. For now, here are coach Piper Wright’s comments after the sectional win over Jefferson City:

Piper Wright interview

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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.

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Nixa meets Willard at 5 pm. Republic is scheduled to play in the second semifinal, starting at 6:15. The finals will be played at 7:30.

Here’s a look at the teams remaining, in order of seeding:

(1) Nixa 31-6
The Eagles defeated Republic in a thriller at Nixa earlier this year, 25-22 27-25. Nixa shared the COC title with Republic and Ozark.

(2) Republic 27-5-3
Republic pushed the area’s best teams to the bring in several matches earlier in the season, before finally breaking through with a victory over state-ranked Ozark on the road. They defeated Willard and Carthage, but lost at Nixa earlier in the year.

(3) Carthage 25-7-1
Carthage lost badly to Republic in their last meeting, 25-10 25-18. But they were playing without a key player, and will be looking for revenge in the semifinals.

(4) Willard 20-12-2
Willard lost to Nixa, their semifinal opponent, 25-15 25-21, in the regular season. They swept Neosho in the opening round of districts.

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Nicole Hallam led Republic with nine kills. Sarah Kreul had 17 assists for the Lady Tigers, and Briana Goforth led the defense with 14 digs.

Just two weeks ago, Webb City had given Republic a much tougher game, losing 27-25, 25-18.

“Even though we didn’t lose last time, we really didn’t do our best, so we were wanting to redeem ourselves, as far as that goes,” said Republic coach Piper Wright.

The Lady Tigers advance to play third-seeded Carthage in the district semifinals Wednesday. Carthage defeated McDonald County 25-18 30-32 25-16.

In the other half of the bracket, top-seeded Nixa beat Neosho 25-12 25-11. And fourth-seeded Willard beat Joplin, 25-13 25-18. Those two teams will meet in the other semifinal.

The district semifinals will be played Wednesday, followed immediately by the finals that same night.

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Republic opens district play with a game against Webb City at 6:30. The Lady Tigers swept Webb City in their previous meeting.

Here’s the full schedule:

October 24
(1) Nixa vs (8) Neosho 4pm
(4) Willard vs (5) Joplin 5:15pm
(2) Republic vs (7) Webb City 6:30pm
(3) Carthage vs (6) McDonald County 7:45pm

October 26
Nixa/Neosho vs. Willard/Joplin 5pm
Republic/Webb City vs Carthage/McDonald County 6:15pm
District Championship Match 7:30pm

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Nicole Hallam had eight kills to lead Republic, and Sarah Kreul added 19 assists. Missy Fernan led the Lady Tigers’ defense with eight digs.

First-year head coach Piper Wright said she takes a lot of pride in the difficult schedule her team has played.

“I’m extremely blessed to have inherited a phenomenal team and program,” said Wright. “The COC is one of the toughest conferences in the state. It’s an honor to be among the ranks of other programs with a strong tradition of winning, like Nixa and Ozark.

“We’ve worked very hard, and when you win the COC, you know you’ve earned it.”

Republic is back in action Thursday at Buffalo. District play begins next week at Republic.

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