The formation of the Central Missouri Activities Conference meant the Helias Lady Crusaders and the Jefferson City Lady Jays had to abandon their home-and-home regular-season series and meet just once on the volleyball court this fall.
It was only fitting they met again for the Class 5 District 9 Tournament championship Thursday night at Capital City High School.
Helias won the rematch and avenged last year's district title defeat, sweeping Jefferson City 25-17, 25-22, 25-12.
"I was very pleased with how we played overall," Helias coach David Harris said. "We had some little stretches where we would commit two or three errors in a row, but they fixed it quickly and got back to playing their game."
With the win, Helias (27-5-2) advances to play District 11 champion Nixa in the Class 5 sectionals. That match is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Nixa.
Jefferson City started the match with plenty of energy, opening with a 4-2 lead behind blocks from Kayla Walters and Rhakala Blackmon and a kill by Walters.
"We jumped out to an early lead in every set, which is ideal," Jefferson City coach Lisa Hoffmeyer said. "We had hoped to maintain them."
Helias answered each early deficit with a quick run. In the first set, it was a 9-2 run. Grace Verslues capped that streak with a kill on the second hit, putting Helias ahead 11-6.
Harris hates to make it sound like a broken record, but it has been typical of his Lady Crusaders to fall behind early this season before making a run.
"We've found ourselves in that situation a lot this year," he said. "So they know they can do it, it's just a matter of them settling down a little bit and focusing on what they need to do."
Chapel Dobbs had a pair of kills to extend the lead to 22-13, forcing a Jefferson City timeout. Dobbs had five kills in each of the first two sets, leading Helias with 14 kills.
"For a while, especially in the first set, she was our whole offense," Harris said. "Other people were struggling a little bit in the first set, and she kept us afloat there for a while. Every time we needed a big kill, she came through."
Grace Wilding finished off the first set with a kill for Helias.
The Lady Jays were hot to start the second set, using a 5-0 run to take an early 7-2 lead. Walters had kills on three of Jefferson City's first four points, while Blackmon had a block and a kill to finish the run.
"They're definitely our fire-starters," Hoffmeyer said of Walters and Blackmon, who each had seven kills. "They're the ones who can ignite a little energy."
Harris called a timeout, and after the break, the Lady Crusaders went on a 9-2 run to take an 11-9 lead.
"Unfortunately, their timeouts worked pretty well tonight," Hoffmeyer said.
Cate Albertson had a pair of kills, followed by a kill from Dobbs and a kill from Lauren Strope. Another kill by Strope extended the Helias lead to 23-18.
Jefferson City scored three straight points after calling a timeout, but a service error swung the momentum back toward the Lady Crusaders. On set point, Lacey Heidbrink made a crucial dig, keeping the Lady Jays from pulling within a point of the lead, and Dobbs finished the point with a kill to give Helias a 2-0 set lead.
"Unfortunately, they won a lot of those long rallies tonight," Hoffmeyer said. "Those are pretty big momentum points."
Helias scored the first three points of the third set, and Jefferson City answered with a 7-0 run.
"I have to give Jefferson City credit, we knew they were going to come out and play with a lot of emotion," Harris said. "They're the reigning district champs and they wanted to keep it. They weren't letting balls hit the floor and kept balls alive."
Harris called a timeout with Helias trailing 7-3, and the break in the action worked again, as the Lady Crusaders answered with a 13-3 run to build a 16-10 advantage.
"Good players make coaches look good," Harris said.
So does good serving, as the Lady Crusaders served six aces in the third set: four by Sydney Mingucci and one each by Ella Randolph and Landrey VanOverschelde.
"In the third set, our serving went off," Harris said.
VanOverschelde's ace came on championship point, capping a 21-4 run by Helias to end the match.
Albertson and Wilding each had six kills for the Lady Crusaders and Strope added five kills. VanOverschelde and Verslues finished with 13 and 11 assists, respectively.
Heidbrink had a team-high 13 digs, Randolph had nine and Verslues added eight. Mingucci and Wilding each had three blocks.
This is Helias' sixth district title in the past seven years.
"These girls took their lumps last year, and they came back stronger this year," Harris said. "They dedicated themselves, they worked hard in the summer."
Paige Reeser had a double-double of 22 assists and 11 digs, while Sydney Vogt had a team-high 12 digs. Blackmon also had six of the Lady Jays' 14 blocks.
Jefferson City had a 15-14-2 record this season, which included a three-week break in play.
"It was a good run for this group," Hoffmeyer said. "I felt like we always competed at a high level. With a few rare exceptions - that third set was a rare exception - throughout the season we lost a lot of sets by 2-3 point swings. We were playing some of the best teams in the state point for point, and unfortunately, a lot of times they weren't turning out in our favor."
Helias will get a rematch against Nixa (30-3) in the Class 5 sectionals. The two teams met last Saturday at Rackers Fieldhouse, and Nixa came away with a five-set victory.
"It was a little bit of a roller coaster the first time we played Nixa," Harris said. "We hope to be a little more consistent and execute better."
The winner will face either Lee's Summit West (18-6) or Springfield Central (12-13) later Saturday in the quarterfinals.