Class 5 Districts 11 and 12

We will keep the momentum going with our district's preview with 11 and 12 in the state's top class, 5! Class 5 District 11 Nixa will be the team to be in this district being hosted by Kickapoo. The top seed with a 28-4 record, Nixa has close to 1200 kills as a team on the season and is averaging a whopping 13.5 kills per set. [player_tooltip player_id="102546" first="Jaycee" last="Fixsen"] leads the assault with 351 kills. Allie Billmyer follows with 264. Setter [player_tooltip player_id="102444" first="Sydney" last="Golden"] looks to put a cap on her career and has 915 assists tallied on the season. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="119224" first="Emma" last="Conrad"] leads the back row efforts with 350 digs. They will play the winner of Ozark and Branson. This district is no slouch as the 4th seed, Ozark sports a 20-11 record. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="150937" first="Hanna" last="Vorhies"] has been a monster this year with 375 kills and 168 digs. [player_tooltip player_id="150036" first="Reagan" last="Baade"] and Madison Reed have done their part defensively, tallying over 500 digs as a unit. Senior setter Ellie Schrader has been a gamer, with close to 900 assists. They will face a Branson team that's had an up and down season. Junior Allison Thomas is averaging around 2.2 kills per set and senior Kayli Thomas is hovering around 2.1. Abu Rushing has been efficient defensively with 300 digs and has added 28 aces behind the service line. Ozark with the victory in this opener, followed by Nixa defeating them on Saturday. In the other semifinal match up we see the second seed Kickpoo take on third seed Republic. At 25-7, Kickapoo's seven losses have come against some of the top teams in the state, so they are battle-tested. Sophomore Bella Faria has had a breakout season, leading the team with 274 kills. Seniors Lauryn Farish and Caroline Field have put up quality numbers themselves with 194 and 155 respectively. Emma Eaton has teamed with Faria to be a solid duo defensively combining for over 450 digs. Another sophomore, Reagan Greenway has been effective in the 6-2, dishing out 526 assists. Republic enters this round with an 18-9 record of their own. They lost to Kickapoo 3-1 earlier in the year and look to get revenge when it matters the most. Junior Kailey Manes and Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="124850" first="Rilynn" last="Finley"] lead the offensive charge for the TIgers. Manes has also been a force in the blocking department, with 77 total blocks on the year. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="152135" first="Payge" last="Plank"] has run the offense smoothly and found her hitters for 760 assists. We will roll with Kickapoo to win the rematch. The finals will showcase Nixa against Kickapoo. Nixa has a 5 set to 1 advantage in the two previous contests, both victories. We see a high-energy contest with Nixa winning it in four. Class 5 District 12 Joplin will serve as hosts to the District 12 playoffs. Top seed Carthage enters sporting a 17-13-1 record. They are winners of 7 of their last 9. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="119184" first="Sydnee" last="Dudolski"] has been fantastic in her final run. 368 kills and 265 digs are great numbers to go out on, with more to be added over the next week. Fellow senior Olivia Bourgault hasn't been too shabby herself with 345 digs. Junior Raven Probert is averaging 9 assists per set. The opening match of the tournament will feature Raymore Peculiar making the trip down 49 to face off against Neosho. Ray-Pec is 12-19 however plays in a very strong conference, one that should give them the chance to win a match or two. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="150940" first="Kylee" last="Harris"] has 127 kills to lead the team. Sierra Jett has dug up 128 balls on the year. On the other side of the net, Neosho had difficulty getting in the win column this year, grabbing four victories. We don't have any stats to work from but we pick Ray-Pec to win this opener before being downed by Carthage. In the second semi-final, we have the second seed Joplin taking on Belton. Joplin is 13-11-5 on the year. They have a balanced offensive attack, with 5 players over 100 kills. Seniors Angelina Schramm and Allie Lawrence lead the way with 175 and 165 kills. Paisley Parker has been lights out behind the block with 488 digs. Both junior setters have done a good job this fall. Abby Hembree and Kaya Cooper together have dished out 641 assists. For Belton (7-12), they will look to be effective in the first pass to get some offense going. We think Joplin will get it done. The final contains two evenly matched teams on paper. Both teams will rely on momentum and energy to pull it off. We think the home crowd will be the electricity needed for Joplin to get the win in five sets.