The Lady Tigers broke out early against Springfield Glendale Tuesday, taking the first set 25-21 and building a lead early in the second set. But from there, Glendale made the adjustments necessary to turn the momentum, winning the last two sets 25-21 and 25-20 to escape with a victory.
Republic coach Piper Wright says Glendale’s ability to make changes won the match for the Falcons.
“Glendale made adjustments. I don’t think we made adjustments back to that,” Wright says. “I think we had a total breakdown in communication. We have two starters out with injury/illness and new people in there, and I don’t think we picked up those new people and communicated.”
Republic’s defense had a hard time containing Glendale star Elizabeth Quinn, who racked up 20 kills and nine blocks.
“We did a nice job (defensively) on the back row. Our blocking was not as strong as it normally is, and that can set everything else off. Our block’s what sets the rest of our defense, so if our block is off, the rest of our defense kind of struggles.”
Rachael Combs led Republic with eight kills. Bella Drennan had 25 assists and six service aces. Lexi Long recorded three blocks.
The freshmen split their two sets with Glendale, 25-22 23-25. The JV won 16-25 25-21 25-12.
The varsity Lady Tigers fall to 6-3.