Nixa volleyball has kicked off the 2023 season red hot. 

The Eagles opened up the year with three-straight wins, entering its tri-match vs. Helias Catholic and Jefferson City on Sept. 1.

In its opener, Nixa hosted Arkansas' 6A three-time defending (2020-2022) state champions, Fayetteville, and swept the visiting Bulldogs, 3-0, dealing the visitors its first loss of the season. The Bulldogs entered with a record of 3-0 and hadn't dropped a set all season, until this matchup with the Eagles. Sets one and two were tightly contested games, as the Eagles won 25-23 and 25-22. Nixa coasted to a 25-18 victory in set three, completing the sweep.

The Eagles outhit Fayetteville .305 to .117, outdug 47 to 35, and dominated in blocks 9 to 3. Senior middle blocker Ava Owens (12) and sophomore outside hitter Gwen Kubik (10) led the team in kills. Senior setter Jacy Bray was the game's leader with 36 assists, and also had five digs and two kills. Senior libero Paige Pearcy had 18 digs for a game-high and had two aces .
 

Team Stats	Nixa	Fayetteville
Kills	41	32
Errors	12	20
Attempts	95	103
Hitting %	.305	.117
Points	53	23
Assists	36	29
Aces	6	4
Blocks	9	3

Nixa Game Leaders:

Kills-Aces-Blocks
#31 Ava Owens: 12-0-2
#20 Gwen Kubik: 10-0-2
#23 Chloe Judd: 8-1-5
#15 Amelia White: 6-1-0

Assists-Errors
#18 Jacy Bray: 36-2

Digs-Errors
#6 Paige Pearcy: 18-5
#2 Taylor Wood: 8-0
#15 Amelia White: 6-3
#35 Mayci Routh: 5-2
 

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Nixa traveled to Columbia, Mo. for its second game of the season on Aug. 29 against the defending Class 5 District 5 champions Rock Bridge Bruins, and avenged last year's defeat with a 3-1 victory over the Bruins.

The Eagles won the first set 25-14, dropped the second 25-17, and went on to win the final two sets 25-18 and 25-17.

Nixa totaled seven aces, five blocks, and hit .269 from the field, led by Ava Owens team-leading 16 kills on a .519 attack percentage. 

Chloe Judd (14) and Amelia White (10) also tallied double-digits kills. Owens also led the team in blocks with three and Judd had a lone block too. White totaled 15 digs in the game as well for a double-double with three aces.

Jacy Bray was everywhere on the court and posted a double-double, dishing out a Nixa-leading 43 assists and 10 digs.

Defensively, Paige Pearcy had 19 digs to lead the team.

Nixa Team Stats:
Kills: 57
Errors: 21
Attempts: 134
Hitting %: .269 
Points: 70
Assists: 46
Aces: 7
Blocks: 5

Nixa Game Leaders:

Kills-Aces-Blocks
#31 Ava Owens: 16-0-3
#23 Chloe Judd: 14-3-1
#15 Amelia White: 10-3-0
#2 Taylor Wood: 7-1-0

Assists-Errors
#18 Jacy Bray: 43-1
#6 Paige Pearcy: 1-0
#2 Taylor Wood: 1-0
#23 Chloe Judd: 1-0

Digs-Errors
#6 Paige Pearcy: 19-7
#15 Amelia White: 15-3
#18 Jacy Bray: 14-1
#2 Taylor Wood: 10-2
 

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Nixa hosted the Branson Pirates for its annual Dig for a Cure Night, honoring the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks (BCFO) and sporting their pink uniforms, in its next contest to open conference play, and defeated the Pirates 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16).

The Eagles had 46 kills, led by the two Eagles who had double-digits. Ava Owens had 11 kills with five blocks and Amelia White was right behind with 10 and four aces. Jacy Bray assisted on 35 of the Eagles points.

Chloe Judd was a force at the net on the defensive end, as the six-footer led the team with five blocks. Offensively, Judd had nine kills and an ace.

Paige Pearcy led the team with 22 digs and White had 12 digs for a double-double performance.

Following the game, Branson and Nixa came together for a check presentation, as the two teams combined to raise $609.90 for the BCFO.

Up next for the Eagles (3-0) is a home matchup vs. Helias Catholic (7-0-1) and Jefferson City (2-0) on Sept. 1.

Nixa Team Stats:
Kills: 46
Errors: 25
Attempts: 133
Hitting %: .158
Points: 71
Assists: 37
Aces: 13
Blocks: 8

Game Leaders:

Kills-Aces-Blocks
#31 Ava Owens: 11-0-2
#15 Amelia White: 10-4-0
#23 Chloe Judd: 9-1-5
#2 Taylor Wood: 7-0-0

Assists-Errors
#18 Jacy Bray: 35-2
#6 Paige Pearcy: 1-0
#15 Amelia White: 1-0

Digs-Errors
#6 Paige Pearcy: 22-6
#15 Amelia White: 12-2
#2 Taylor Wood: 9-3
#18 Jacy Bray: 6-4