By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Rogersville, Mo. — If Thursday’s regular season finale was an opportunity to springboard into the postseason, Nixa just hit the momentum lottery.
Fueled by an inspired performance from setter Taylor Gregory and an absolutely suffocating defensive performance, the Lady Eagles staged a storybook comeback to beat Rogersville in a three-set thriller (20-25, 29-27, 25-15).
Down 18-12 in the second set, there was little margin for error by the time the Nixa rally finally started.
Still, Lady Eagles head coach Annie Zimmerman had plenty of reasons to be confident in her team.
“We knew we had to make a couple adjustments in the second set,” Zimmerman said. “We talked about some of the holes we felt we could expose in their defense a little bit, and we just played very smart volleyball. When we were going up to swing, it wasn’t like we were just swinging blind. We had a plan for where we needed to go with it, we knew what our options were and my kids made really, really good decisions. I feel like that all started in that second set.”
A series of Rogersville miscues cut the deficit to 21-17 before Nixa went on a four-point run to tie the set at 21-all, courtesy of three straight kills from Kenzie Hines.
While the Nixa rally was building momentum, Rogersville would not go quietly.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Rallying behind hitters Gabby Massengale and Maci McHenry, the Lady Wildcats tied up the set six more times before Hines’ finally closed out the 29-27 set with back-to-back kills at the net.
After dropping the exhausting marathon of a set, Rogersville came out flat in the third and promptly found itself on the wrong end of a 15-10 deficit.
The Lady Wildcats attempted to rally, only to see Nixa repeatedly thwart any significant opportunities.
What’s more, the smaller Nixa front line of Hines, Regan Ansley and Ciera Reyes found continued lanes in the Rogersville defense. Thanks to Gregory’s quick decision making and pinpoint sets, the Lady Eagles were able to essentially trade points back and forth down the stretch.
Gregory, in particular, was ruthlessly efficient running Nixa’s attack, and it was only fitting the senior closed out the match with an ace.
Zimmerman had high praise for her setter after the match.
“[Gregory] made great decisions,” Zimmerman said. “I thought my outside hitters could have really a really big night, tonight, but she also knew the exact moments when she needed to go to that middle on a transition play. Mix it up just enough to keep the defense off balance a little bit. Plus, she played great defense on the back row, too.”
After finishing the match with 39 assists and 10 digs, Gregory was quick to credit her hitters for her performance.
“Honestly, it makes it so easy for me when I’ve got hitters that are just putting the ball away,” Gregory said. “Set after set, hit after hit; it’s a great confidence-booster for me and for them, especially when we’re able to move the ball around and get kills from all areas of the court. It also opens up my front line blocking-wise and gives them a better opportunity to get a kill on the other side of the net.”
Hines and Ansley led Nixa’s attack with 14 and 13 kills, respectively, while libero Madison Grantham keyed the defensive effort with a whopping 28 digs.
For Rogersville and head coach Tammy Miller, missed opportunities to close out the match with a big, second-set lead proved to be the team’s undoing.
Following the match, Miller talked about the difficulties adjusting to Nixa’s pressure.
“I watched a little bit of Nixa all year,” Miller said. “They do a good job keeping the ball alive. They’re not very big, but they’re mighty. They caused us a little bit of serve-receive problems, and they kept digging us, which frustrated us,” Miller said. “We just played complacent … a little lackadaisical, for better terms.”
Birdie Hendrickson led Rogersville with 17 kills, followed by 14 from Massengale. McKenna Miller notched 41 assists, and the Ashley Pitts/Hendrickson/Sydney Dunavant trio recorded 17, 15 and 15 digs, respectively.
Both teams enter district play next week. Nixa (21-10) heads to Kickapoo for a Class 4 District 11 quarterfinal match against Glendale on Monday, Oct. 16. With potential matches looming against No. 2 Kickapoo and No. 1 Ozark, Zimmerman hopes a grueling, end-of-season schedule will pay dividends in the bracket.
“Our kids have handled the schedule extremely well,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve played tough over the last two weeks really, and I think that puts us in a good spot both physically and mentally going into districts, which is exactly what I wanted.”
In Class 3 District 11, Rogersville (27-4-1) opens with a quarterfinal bye. The Lady Wildcats await the Springfield Catholic/Hollister winner in a semifinal to be played Tuesday, Oct. 17 in Rogersville.
Despite the loss, Miller was pleased with portions of the match and hopes those elements, plus some improvements, will carry over into the postseason.
“First set and 17 points into the second, I liked how we moved the ball, and I liked how we stayed in plays,” Miller said. “I liked those things, but I think we can improve on aggressive serving, and our blocking has got to get better.”
Varsity final: Nixa – 2, Rogersville – 1 (20-25, 29-27, 25-15)
JV final: Nixa – 2, Rogersville – 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23)
Frosh final: Nixa -2, Rogersville – 1 (25-21, 24-26, 15-7)
