The Lady Tigers volleyball team finished in a 5th-place tie at the Springfield Classic Tournament Saturday, but not before showing they can play with the elite teams in Missouri. Republic finished first in its pool, which included state-ranked #1 St. Francis Borgia, before dropping a quarterfinal match in three sets to Webb City.
Republic started the day with a 2-set victory over Lebanon (25-13, 25-13). They followed it up with a split against top-ranked Borgia (25-13, 18-25). After another two-set win over Waynesville (25-14, 25-16), and a split with Lee’s Summit (18-25, 26-24), gave the Lady Tigers first place in their pool, and advanced them to the gold bracket for the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinal match against Webb City, Republic jumped on top with a 25-21 win in the first set. Webb City countered with an easy win in the second set (25-16), then put the game away in a close third set (25-22).
St. Francis Borgia went on to take the title, with a win over Webb City in the final. Lafayette won the third-place match over Nixa. Other quarterfinalists were Glendale, Kickapoo and Bentonville, Ark.
The freshman volleyball team had an even better day — traveling to the Joplin 9th grade tournament and winning the championship.
Stat leaders vs. Lebanon
Kills: Elle Aston, Rachel Nichols, & Shelby Gordon (6)
Assists: Jordan Jones (20)
Digs: Mallory Long & Shelby Patton (7)
Blocks: Nicole Hallam (4)
Aces: Alex Botkin (3)
Stat leaders vs. St. Francis Borgia
Kills: Elle Aston (7)
Assists: Jordan Jones (18)
Digs: Elle Aston & Alex Botkin (8)
Aces: Alex Botkin (5)
Stat leaders vs. Waynesville
Kills: Shelby Gordon (5)
Assists: Jordan Jones (14)
Digs: Elle Aston (10)
Stat leaders vs. Lee’s Summit
Kills: Elle Aston (6)
Assists: Jordan Jones (12)
Digs: Mallory Long (10)
Stat leaders vs. Webb City
Kills: Shelby Gordon (11)
Assists: Jordan Jones (26)
Digs: Jordan Jones & Mallory Long (15)
(Thanks to LaRae Jones for the photo.)