By John Miller (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Nixa, Mo. – They won the first point of the match and never looked back. In a battle of two of the more established programs in the area, Nixa had its way with Kickapoo, downing the VolleyChiefs in straight sets, 25-19, 25-14.
“We had a great atmosphere,” Nixa coach Annie Zimmerman said. “Our crowd has been great here at home. We so appreciate that. It helps get us rolling in the beginning. I thought our girls did a good job of sustaining that energy.”
Buoyed by a good student turnout from both schools, Nixa snatched the energy of the match early and didn’t let it slip.
“When we play Kickapoo, we need every bit of help that we can get,” Zimmerman said. “When we have the momentum, we know that we have to keep working and doing everything we possibly can to keep it. Kickapoo is a team that is extremely dangerous, and at any moment, things can shift. They are capable of going on some major runs. We knew that coming in and really tried to maintain our composure.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Jordan Collard and Taylor Golmen both led the Lady Eagles with five kills apiece. Ciera Reyes added four, while Kenzie Hines had four blocks to pace Nixa. Sydney Golden led the squad with 18 assists.
Nixa dominated both sets, never trailing by more than a point. When Kickapoo tied the match 14-14 in the first, Nixa scored nine of the next 12 points to take control.
In the second set, after seeing its 11-4 lead close to 13-10, the Lady Eagles rallied off five straight points and eight of the next nine to regain command.
“I like that our girls are able to remain calm,” Zimmerman said. “Even if we make an error, or we have a bad serve-receive pass, I feel like we are able to learn from and correct a mistake we made while moving on very quickly. For as young as we are, we seem to be handling those types of situations with a lot of maturity, which I’m really happy to see. That speaks a lot to the leadership of our upperclassmen. They keep everybody calm on the floor and that helps.”
Nixa 2, Kickapoo 0
Game Scores 1 2
Kickapoo 19 14
Nixa 25 25
