Four Republic volleyball players won All-District honors for their performances in the district tournament at Aurora last week. [Read more...]
Lady Tigers Fall Two Points Short
October 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Republic Lady Tigers barely missed a trip to the state semifinals, losing to Rogersville in three games, 25-21, 16-25, 23-25. It’s the second straight year Republic’s season has ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to the Wildcats.
Republic nearly pulled off a dramatic quarterfinal comeback, trailing 19-24 in the last game. They won four straight points to pull within one, at 23-24 — but Rogersville called a timeout, then, on the next point, tipped the ball to an open spot on Republic’s left side to win the match.
Elle Aston and Nicole Hallam each had 11 kills to lead the Lady Tigers. Defensively, Jordan Jones contributed 12 digs and five blocks, to go along with her 29 assists. Hallam had seven blocks and Mallory Long had 14 digs.
The quarterfinal loss was the second match of the day for Republic. They had beaten Carl Junction in the sectionals, 26-24, 25-15. In that match the Lady Tigers trailed badly in the first game, 14-19, before rallying to take the lead 21-20. Carl Junction won four of the next five to earn two game points — but Republic rattled off four straight points for the win. After taking the momentum, they cruised to an easy victory in game two.
Shelby Gordon was the star of the match for Republic, leading the team in kills, and playing strong defense. She had 10 kills, hitting .666 for the match. Mallory Long had 11 digs for the Lady Tigers, and Nicole Hallam and Jordan Jones each had four blocks. Jones also added 22 assists.
I’ll have video of both matches online Sunday.
Three Lady Tigers On All-Region Team
October 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Three Lady Tiger volleyball players earned All-Region honors in Missouri Class 3. Senior Elle Aston and sophomore Jordan Jones were both named to the first team in the Southwest Region. Sophomore Nicole Hallam earned honorable mention.
The state is broken into five regions, from which the All-Region teams are selected. All-state selections are made from among those All-Region players.
Here are the selections in the Southwest Region:
First Team
Elle Aston, Republic
Hattie Michaud, Reeds Spring
Jordan Jones, Republic
Katelyn Joyner, Carl Junction
Katy Cooper, East Newton
Kenzie Williams, Mount Vernon
Marti Richmiller, Cassville
Shaye Buttram, McDonald County
Second Team
Chloe Blount, Logan-Rogersville
Elly Citron, Mountain Grove
Erica Heim, Logan-Rogersville
Jessica Curl, Mount Vernon
Mackenzie Valenti, Carl Junction
Maddie Redfern, Logan-Rogersville
Meg DeMuri, Buffalo
Ryan Parsons, McDonald County
Honorable Mention
Baylee Henderson, Bolivar
Bethany Decker, Aurora
Danielle Lampe, Springfield Catholic
Haley Hahn, Reeds Spring
Heidi Schmied, Buffalo
Kayla Wilson, Springfield Catholic
Micah Cribbs, Bolivar
Nicole Hallam, Republic
Olivia Cline, Cassville
District Champs!
October 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Republic used a strong defensive effort to capture a second straight district volleyball title, beating Reeds Spring in the final Wednesday, 25-23, 25-14.
[Read more...]
Lady Tigers Sweep Nixa
October 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Lady Tigers volleyball program swept Nixa Tuesday, and capped it off with a three-game varsity win, 25-23 25-27 27-25.
Jordan Jones had 32 assists to key the passing attack for Republic. Shelby Gordon had nine kills to lead the Lady Tigers, and Elle Aston had 16 digs.
Republic started strong in the first game, jumping out to a 10-6 lead. But Nixa stayed close, and eventually tied the game at 18. The Eagles took a lead at 22-21, but Republic won four of the next five points.
The Lady Tigers led for much of the second game, and looked like they would put Nixa away early. But after building a 17-13 lead, Republic allowed Nixa to tie the game at 19. The game was tied again at 22, 24, and 25, before Nixa scored two straight to win 27-25.
In the third game, Republic jumped on top again — and again let the lead slip away. From a 20-14 lead, Republic saw Nixa win nine of the next 12 points to tie the game at 23. The two teams dueled back and forth until Republic won two straight to clinch the victory, 27-25.
The varsity win was just one of three on the night at Nixa for the Lady Tigers. The JV team beat Nixa 25-20 25-19. And the freshmen also won in two games, 25-18 26-24.
Volleyball Rebounds with Win Over Neosho
October 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
On Senior Night, Republic got six kills from senior Rachel Nichols, and easily beat Neosho, 25-17 25-18. The Lady Tigers were coming off a disappointing loss at Branson Tuesday, but this match was never seriously in doubt after the Lady Tigers opened their first lead in game one.
Nicole Hallam also had six kills for Republic. And Jordan Jones dished out 15 assists. Mallory Long led the way defensively, with nine digs.
Before the match, Republic honored Nichols and three of her senior classmates: Elle Aston, Haley Keck and Shelby Patton. You should go check out the photo set from tonight on flickr.
The JV team also won in two games, 25-13 25-16.
Branson Comes from Behind to Beat Republic
October 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Republic’s volleyball team won their first game, then dropped two in a row in a loss at Branson Tuesday, 25-19 21-25 21-25.
The Lady Tigers were coming off a week with two COC victories against Webb City and Carthage, and looked ready to continue their winning streak after a victory in the first game. But Branson got 28 assists from setter Cailynne Hayter, and 11 kills from Bre Winn, to come from behind. Winn also had three service aces to lead all players.
Republic was led by Nicole Hallam and Rachel Nichols with ten kills apiece. Elle Aston and Mallory Long had 17 digs each, and Jordan Jones led the Lady Tigers with 25 assists.
In the JV match, Republic won easily, 25-15 25-13. And the freshmen also won big, 25-11 25-13.
Lady Tigers Dominate Webb City
October 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Republic’s Nicole Hallam showed Webb City what it missed the first time the two teams met, as the Lady Tigers cruised to a 25-17 25-18 victory Tuesday. The Lady Tigers had lost to Webb City in three games at the Springfield Classic Tournament — but were limited offensively, playing without Hallam. They showed big improvement in every aspect of their game in Tuesday’s win.
Hallam and Elle Aston each had six kills. And Mallory Long had a big defensive game with 16 digs for the Lady Tigers. Long also contributed two service aces.
For Webb City, Kaitlin Jaeger had five kills.
In the JV game, Republic dominated, 25-19 25-10. Brandy Glessner had 5 kills on 6 attempts with no errors (0.833 hitting %). Sarah Kreul had 15 assists, Rachelle Kipp had 6 digs, and Kelsey Forbis had 3 aces.
The freshmen also won easily, 25-11 25-13.
Volleyball Opens COC Play with Loss
September 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Republic volleyball team couldn’t overcome a slow start, falling at Ozark in two games Tuesday.
Ozark won the first game easily, 25-13, before Republic came alive. In the second game, the two teams were tied several times, at 17, 19, and 20. Republic took a 22-20 lead, but Ozark won five straight points to clinch the victory.
Elle Aston had eight kills for Republic. Alex Botkin had 13 digs to lead the Lady Tigers, and Jordan Jones had 21 assists.
Ozark’s Meghan Stacy had eight kills, and Hannah Meadows had seven. Sydney Potts had 28 assists to lead all players for Ozark.
The win improves Ozark’s record to 11-2. Republic falls to 7-4-2.
Ozark’s JV team won 25-17, 25-21. The Ozark freshmen won 25-19, 25-19.
In Republic, the 8th grade Ozark team won 25-16, 25-12. The 7th grade Republic team won, 25-18, 25-21.
Volleyball Sweeps Parkview
September 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Republic’s volleyball teams swept Parkview Tuesday, with the freshman, JV and varsity teams picking up victories.
The freshmen followed up on their win at the Joplin tournament with a victory in straight sets, 25-8, 25-19. The JV team dropped the first set, but rebounded to take a 3-set victory, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14. The victory keeps the JV squad’s undefeated record intact.
In the varsity match, 5th-ranked Republic won a close one in the first set, 26-24. They took the second set 25-20, to improve to 7-3-2 on the season.
Nicole Hallam led the Lady Tigers with 8 kills. She hit .500 for the match. Jordan Jones had 24 assists. Elle Aston and Mallory Long had 12 digs apiece to key the defensive effort.
The varsity team has a week off, and will return to action at Ozark next Tuesday. The JV team will host the Republic Tournament this weekend.
