Jaycee Fixsen's numbers at the net in Nixa's Class 5 District 11 opening-round win Tuesday were about the same as her stats in the Lady Eagles' District wins a year ago.

But how Fixsen went about getting her 11 kills in Nixa's 25-10, 25-9, 25-15 sweep of Republic didn't follow the same script she followed in totaling 24 kills opposite Ozark in the semifinals and Kickapoo in the final last season.

Fixsen was as much about finesse as power, perhaps even more so, while showing off her accuracy on cross-court kills against Republic.

"Last year, I was just thinking about getting kills and swinging as hard as I can," Fixsen said. "Now, as I'm growing mentally and my volleyball IQ is getting higher, I see the court and where the blockers are. I'm thinking of tooling off the hands or going around them."

"Jaycee has the ability to mix up her shots," coach Annie Zimmerman said. "She might go across, but then also go right down the line. She's also doing a good job moving the ball around when she's attacking from the back row. She's realizing how beneficial it is to keep defenses off balance and how much she will need to do that as we go forward and the teams we play keep getting better."

Fixsen was exceptionally efficient while finishing off Republic. Her hitting percentage was .556.

During regular-season play, she had 345 kills with a .266 hitting percentage.

"I've been consistently around .250," Fixsen said. "I'm trying to get to the .300 mark." 

"A good hitter makes it look easy," Zimmerman said. "It's all about the prep work they do before they contact the ball that makes the difference. Jaycee is continuing to get better at that."

Nixa's rout of Republic also included 10 kills and three aces from Taylor Golmen, 35 kills from Syndey Golden, 17 digs and two aces from Emma Conrad and seven kills from Jena Medearis.

The Lady Eagles collected 10 aces.

"We played cohesively," Zimmerman said. "At this point in the season, that's what should be happening."

Nixa (30-3) reached the 30-win mark for the second straight season. The Lady Eagles are actually ahead of the pace set by last year's Class 4 state champs. Nixa was 29-4 at this juncture a year ago. 

"There were a lot of question marks coming into the season from people on the outside, 'Nixa lost a lot of seniors, ow good are they going to be?'" Zimmerman said. "The girls have embraced that challenge."

"We're very proud of getting back to the 30-win mark," Fixsen said. "Ever since we got to 20, our next goal was 30."

Nixa advances to the District final Wednesday at 6 p.m. versus Kickapoo (24-6). The Lady Eagles won all four of the teams' matches in the regular season.  They beat the Lady Chiefs in their home-opener, twice at the Springfield Tournament and again at the Ozark Grand Slam Tournament.

Going back to the 2018, Nixa has won eight straight against Kickapoo.

"Whenever we play Kickapoo, it's a whole different mindset," Fixsen said. "We know players on their team and what goes on behind the scenes. We want to win so badly that a different side of us comes out."