The Republic Lady Tigers captured a share of the Central Ozark Conference volleyball title for the first time since 2004, with a 25-11 25-15 road win over Branson.

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.

Republic last won the Central Ozark Conference volleyball title in 2004. Tonight, that dry spell may end.

The Lady Tigers have a chance to clinch at least a tie for the COC championship when they travel to Branson tonight in their final conference game. If Nixa and Ozark both win, and if Republic beats Branson, the teams would finish in a three-way tie.

Nixa plays Webb City, and Ozark plays Carthage to end the COC season. The three co-leaders have each suffered one loss. Republic lost to Nixa; Nixa lost to Ozark; Ozark lost to Republic.

Four tournaments made for a big day for the Republic volleyball program Saturday.

The JV team captured the title at the Kickapoo Tournament. The varsity team beat Kirkwood in the 3rd place game at the Ozark Tournament, falling to Ozark in the semifinals, and beating Kirkwood in the 3rd place game.

The junior high teams also both had successful days in their COC Tournaments. Both the 7th and 8th grade teams finished 3rd in the conference.

All six volleyball seniors were in the lineup when Republic finished its win over Carthage — a fitting way to end Republic’s Senior Night tribute. Republic blew away Carthage, 25-10 25-18. They led 21-5 at one point in the second game.

The Lady Tigers honored six seniors: Missy Fernan, Mallory Long, Nicole Hallam, Briana Goforth, Kelsey Forbis and Alex Conklin. They have led Republic to a record of 20-4-2 this season. New coach Piper Wright has been impressed with their leadership, especially during the transition under a new coach.

“They have handled it unbelievably. I have never really had a class that has had so much leadership,” Wright said.

Hallam had four services aces for the Lady Tigers. Sarah Kreul had 13 assists. Goforth and Long led the defense with nine digs apiece.

The state-ranked Republic Lady Tigers struggled early against Webb City, but asserted their dominance as the night went on, winning 27-25, 25-18.

Republic, #9 in the latest Class Four rankings, looked like it would pull away in the first game. From a 15-15 tie, the Lady Tigers built a 24-20 lead, only to see Webb City score four straight points. After the teams traded points, Republic finally won 27-25.

In the second game, the Lady Tigers jumped on top 8-1, and were never seriously challenged. After stretching the lead to 22-12, they allowed Webb City to six of the next eight points before putting the match away.

Nicole Hallam and Lexi Birlew each had six kills to lead Republic. Briana Goforth had five, and Sarah Kreul had four.

The JV and freshmen teams both won their matches, too. The JV won 25-12, 25-18. The freshmen won 25-12, 25-13.

The Republic Lady Tigers have jumped into the state volleyball rankings for the first time this season. Republic is ranked 9th in the state in Class Four in the latest listing from the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Lady Tigers sit just behind two other area teams — Kickapoo and Nixa — both of whom beat Republic in close matches earlier this year. Republic defeated Francis Howell North, the #10 team, during the Lebanon Tournament last weekend. Another area team, Ozark, dropped out of the top ten after losing to Republic last week. Glendale also sits just outside the top ten.

Class Four is led by St. Joseph’s Academy, St. Teresa’s Academy, and Blue Springs South, in the top three spots.

The Lady Tigers volleyball team won the championship at the Lebanon Tournament Saturday. Republic beat nine other teams to take the title, including a three-set victory over Francis Howell North in the finals.

The Lady Tigers were seeded first coming out of pool play. They swept Camdenton in the quarterfinals, then swept Lindbergh in the semifinals before beating Howell North to take the championship.

Nicole Hallam, Alex Botkin, and Sarah Kreul were named to the All-Tournament Team. Kreul was voted the tournament MVP.

Also over the weekend, the freshmen took 2nd in the Nixa Tournament.

The Republic volleyball team got off to a slow start, but stormed back to win in straight sets over Willard, 25-20 25-19, in a COC matchup.

Briana Goforth had 10 kills, and Nicole Hallam added seven. Sarah Kreul had 20 assists. And Mallory Long led the defense with eight digs.

The win improves Republic’s record to 13-4.

Several times this season, Republic has pushed highly regarded opponents to the brink, but fallen short. Tuesday night at Ozark, they made sure that didn’t happen.

The Lady Tigers raced out to a fast start, winning the first set 25-16. They finished Ozark off with a 25-22 victory in the second set.

Before the varsity team pulled off the upset, the Republic JV squad suffered its first loss of the season.

The Republic Lady Tigers again played well against one of the best teams in southwest Missouri. But again they fell a little short. At Nixa Thursday night, Republic pushed Nixa to the limit in two games, losing 25-22, 27-25.

After Nixa took the first set, Republic led most of the way in the second. The score was tied 12 times, but Republic never trailed until Nixa took a lead at 20-19. From there, Republic built its lead to 24-22, but Nixa won five of the last six points to clinch the victory.

“I think a lot of it just comes down to confidence and agressiveness,” said Republic coach Piper Wright.  ”It’s definitely intimidating playing teams like this, and we just have to learn to be aggressive.”

Nicole Hallam led the Lady Tigers with six kills. Briana Goforth had ten digs to lead the Republic defense, and Sarah Kreul had 24 assists.

The JV team stayed undefeated with a dramatic three-set victory. And the freshman team swept, winning easily, 25-10, 25-20.