Nixa battled three-time defending state champion Lafayette (Wildwood) in the Class 5 state semifinals on Thursday, but the Eagles came up short of earning a spot in the state title game with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-13, 22-25, 25-19) loss.

The first set was tied early on at 5-5 but a 4-0 run by Lafayette moved the score to 9-5 and the Lancers didn't trail again on the way to a 25-21 set victory.

Set two was dominated by Lafayette jumping out to a 22-9 lead eventually winning the set 25-13.

In the third set, Nixa came out firing. The Lady Eagles took a lead at 3-2 and then never trailed again building up a lead as big as seven on the way to a 25-22 set victory. It was only the 12th set Lafayette had lost all season and the second set Nixa took off Lafayette in addition to a regular season set victory.

Click here for the full recap.