By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Ozark, Mo. — In Wednesday’s Class 2 District 10 final, Nixa wasn’t the only opponent Ozark had to fend off en route to its second championship in four years.
The Lady Tigers also had to battle through intermittent sprinkles, a chilly breeze and the pressure to beat the fiercest of rivals in a knockout scenario.
In the end, head coach Greg Hannah’s squad cleared all hurdles to win the match 5-1 and advance to next weekend’s sectional round.
“We have good depth,” Hannah said. “Our girls are pretty equally-balanced all through the ladder. We don’t have a big dropoff, and that has really served us well in these dual matches.”
Ozark stormed out to an early lead in doubles competition, with Bailey Major and Jadyn Engel blanking Nixa’s Natalie Forbis and Jennifer Hardy 8-0 in the No. 2 matchup.
An hour later, Major notched another Ozark point in singles, downing Catherine Everett 6-2, 6-2.
The senior’s baseline game proved to be too much for the Lady Eagles, as shot after shot was returned back across the net.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
“I usually stay in the back,” Major said. “I just try to keep hitting the ball over until my opponent makes a mistake.”
Hannah was quick to praise Major’s baseline attack, which the Lady Tiger players have come to know all too well.
“They call her The Wall,” Hannah said. “She’s just consistent, and doesn’t try to overhit. She’s like a human backboard … literally. She just does a really good job of hitting the ball back.”
Ozark’s No. 3 team also tallied an early victory, as Abigail Taylor and Kaitlyn Short defeated Nixa’s Ashley Brassard and Kelly Davenport 8-2; however, the Lady Eagles didn’t go scoreless through the doubles competition.
The No. 1 team of Sydney Odom and Catherine Everett outlasted Ozark’s Madison Woods and Macy Abernathy 8-4 to notch what turned out to be Nixa’s lone point on the afternoon.
Despite an 8-1 victory two weeks earlier in the regular season, Hannah knew the elimination match would not be an easy affair for the Lady Tigers.
“Nixa has a fine team,” Hannah said. “We needed to have that 2-1 advantage going into singles, and our No. 2 and 3 doubles teams came through for us.”
Once the singles competition began, it didn’t take Ozark long to convert the 2-1 advantage into three additional, match-ending victories.
Major downed Everett 6-2, 6-2; Abernathy defeated Forbis 6-1, 6-2; and Short bested Brassard 6-2, 6-1 to vault the Lady Tigers into the sectional round.
While the loss ends Nixa’s team season at 9-7, head coach Brock Blansit knew his team would have to play a perfect match to repeat the previous day’s result. The Lady Eagles completed a wild comeback on Tuesday to upset Branson, the No. 2 seed.
“We played really well last night, and it was kind of an upset victory for us,” Blansitt said. “We knew we’d have to play really well tonight against Ozark. They beat us pretty handily the first time, but the girls played hard. For our team this year, a second-place finish at districts is awesome.”
When the two teams met earlier in the season, Ozark rolled to an 8-1 victory. Nixa’s No. 1 doubles team of Odom and Everett scored the team’s lone point in that contest, as well.
Ozark (12-4) now gets to shift into an upset-minded role, as the Lady Tigers prepare for a sectional-round rematch with Central. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Ozark 8-1 in the regular season and reached the sectional round by downing Kickapoo in the District 11 final for the second straight season.
Woods, Ozark’s No. 1 player, was quick to point out the fact the Lady Tigers will be bringing a different mindset into next week’s elimination match.
“During knockout, it’s not part of our season-season,” Woods said. “So, it’s like we’re versing them for real now. We need to play a lot harder than we did before. It’s going to come down to who wants to win the most.”
The Oct. 7 matchup will be played at Raymore-Peculiar.
Class 2 District 10 Final: Ozark – 5, Nixa 1
Varsity Doubles
1) Sydney Odom/Catherine Everett, Nixa def. Madison Woods/Macy Abernathy, Ozark 8-4
2) Bailey Major/Jadyn Engel, Ozark def. Natalie Forbis/Jennifer Hardy, Nixa 8-0
3) Abigail Taylor/Kaitlyn Short, Ozark def. Ashley Brassard/Kelly Davenport, Nixa 8-2
Varsity Singles
2) Bailey Major, Ozark def. Catherine Everett, Nixa 6-2, 6-2
3) Macy Abernathy, Ozark def. Natalie Forbis, Nixa 6-1, 6-2
5) Kaitlyn Short, Ozark vs. Ashley Brassard, Nixa 6-2, 6-1
