She cheered from the stands as her older sister, Haidan, helped Ozark earn a regular season conference win over archrival Nixa.
“I watched her growing up and I’ve been a fan of hers forever,” Baade said of her sister, who went on to play at William Jewell. “My mom actually got a flashback this week (on Facebook) and it was a picture that was posted after the 2018 game.”
Five years later, Baade and a new cast of Lady Tigers were ready to end Ozark’s dry spell.
Ozark swept Nixa 3-0 on Tuesday night (25-22, 25-14, 25-19), flipping the script in a matchup that’s been dominated by the Lady Eagles in recent years.
Entering Tuesday’s match, Nixa had won seven of the last eight meetings versus Ozark. The lone Ozark win in that span came last year in bracket play of the Springfield Classic.
“We’ve always had this in us,” Baade said. “Tonight may look like a shocker to some people, but it’s no surprise to any of us. It’s just been hidden away, because sometimes we get frustrated or stressed out. Tonight it was all confidence; we put our foot on the gas and never let up.”
Baade, a Missouri State commit, had a match-high 15 kills while teammate Tara Venable added 10 kills.
Ozark (15-2 overall, 4-0 Central Ozark Conference) pulled away midway through the first set, which turned out to be the closest of the three.
“The way the match started, both teams just played all-out. It’s fun volleyball to watch when you have two teams who are playing that hard,” said Nixa coach Annie Zimmerman. “Unfortunately, through that, we made some costly errors and gave away points early.
“I think that just kind of created a shift in the momentum, and Ozark took 100 percent full advantage of that and never looked back.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Ozark, paced by 45 assists from Reece Cook, controlled the final two sets as momentum and confidence swung their way.
Macy Humble, who moved to libero this season, led Ozark’s defense with 14 digs.
“Our whole defensive department played phenomenal tonight,” said Ozark coach Adeana Brewer. “We played really good floor defense.”
Tuesday’s outcome marks just the second time Nixa has lost 3-0 on its home court since MSHSAA expanded volleyball matches to a best-of-five setup in 2020.
The last team to win 3-0 at Nixa, Willard in 2020, went on to win the Class 4 state title that season.
“We’re still very far from peaking as a team,” Zimmerman said. “I think this was a little bit of a wakeup call. The things we do every day in practice, we have to keep that discipline and make sure we don’t commit silly errors. Especially against a team this good.
“At this point of the season, getting humbled is not a bad thing for us.”
Ava Owens led Nixa (17-3 overall, 3-1 COC) with 8 kills. Jacy Bray recorded 22 assists.
Nixa looks to bounce back Thursday night at home against Webb City. Ozark hosts Joplin the same night.
Ozark’s win over Nixa shakes up the race for the top seed in next month’s Class 5 District 6 tournament, hosted in Waynesville. The district field includes Kickapoo, which swept Ozark at home on Sept. 5 but lost in five sets at Nixa the next night.
Ozark will be gunning for its first district championship since 2018.
“You’re going to have to beat the best to be the best,” Brewer said. “Our conference is really strong, our district is really strong. I think that says a lot about the level of volleyball in this area.”
Ozark 3, Nixa 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-19)
Ozark stat leaders
• Kills: Reagan Baade 21, Tara Venable 10
• Digs: Macy Humb... Click here to read full article
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