After flying high against Springfield Catholic on Monday, Republic came back down to earth. The Republic Tigers fell just short of the Willard Tigers by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday. Republic was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Willard apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in September of 2023.
Republic actually scored more points across those five sets (108-106), but sadly they still had to settle for second. The match finished with set scores of 27-25, 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13.
Despite the defeat, Republic had strong showings from Kaylee Cornelsen, who had 17 digs, and Reese Finley, who had 11 kills and nine digs. Finley is on a roll when it comes to kills, as she's now had 11 or more in the last six games she's played dating back to last season.
Even though they lost, Republic was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 12 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least six aces in three consecutive matches.
Among those leading the charge was Kylin Vandever, who had 21 digs. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 10.1 digs per game.
Republic has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-16 record this season. As for Willard, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-16-1.
Republic didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 3-0 win against Parkview on the 17th. Willard has also already played their next matchup, a 3-1 loss against Carthage on the 17th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
