Women's Volleyball 10/28/2021 10:36:00 AM By Ryan Retone, Student Intern

Despite slow start, Lady Eagles win 3rd-consecutive district title

"I'm just so full of joy right now," said senior outside hitter Allie Billmyer after her big game in the Class 5 District 11 championship.

Billmyer's 13 kills led the way for Nixa and gave the Lady Eagles a much needed boost after a slow start in the first set.

Head coach Annie Zimmerman credited Kickapoo for the slow start.

"The first set was a very slow start, Kickapoo had a lot to do with that. I thought they came out and played extremely well, they wanted it and that was obvious," Zimmerman said.

The Lady Chiefs came out firing and made it hard for Nixa to find any opening at the net.

"Kickapoo has great blockers, that's one thing they do very well. They're not big, but they are very explosive off the floor and they do a really good job pressing the net," also said Zimmerman.

Kickapoo would run away with set one and win 25-18.

Prior to set two, Zimmerman and the Lady Eagles agreed to make a change.

"I was a little disappointed in our response to Kickapoo. We didn't do the little things and stay disciplined to execute on our side of the court," she said. "In the second set, we made a decision that we were going to be better".

And, the Lady Eagles did.

Nixa started the second set on a 3-0 run, helping build an early lead that the Lady Eagles refused to give up, and did not. The Lady Eagles tied the game at one with a 25-18 win in set two.

Nixa again opened up the set with a 3-0 run. The Lady Eagles used that momentum to blow the set wide open and took a 18-9 lead. However, after a Kickapoo timeout, the Lady Chiefs started to regain life. The blocking attack that had been effective in the first set, but quiet since, started to appear again.

Kickapoo would cut the Lady Eagle lead down to two, but it was too late, as Nixa took the set 25-22, putting Kickapoo's season on the ropes.

A 4-0 start to the fourth set propelled Nixa to a massive lead. The Lady Eagles gained their largest set lead of the night on the final point with a Billmyer kill, which Nixa won 25-13, clinching their third-straight district championship and third-straight appearance in the state tournament.

For Billmyer, post game, simply gratifying seeing her team's hard work starting to pay off.

"We have all worked so hard as a team and especially to get to this moment we have been looking forward to playing Kickapoo again and getting this district championship," she said.

Winning that district title is indeed a special moment and just another goal Zimmerman and her Lady Eagles can check off.

"Overall that is just one goal we set for ourselves this year so to be able to check that one of our list is awesome and I told the girls after that don't forget how special it is to win a district championship," Zimmerman said. "It's a big deal. It's that next step to get where you want to go. We've got a lot of work to do between now and then. I'm just overall so happy for our girls that they were able to accomplish that goal."

Nixa is set for a showdown in the battle of the Eagles when Joplin comes to town for the state sectional matchup on Oct. 28. Nixa swept Joplin during their regular-season matchup 25-17, 25-14 and 25-12.

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