CAPE CENTRAL TENNIS FALLS IN SECTIONAL PLAY

Cape Girardeau Central High's girls tennis team narrowly missed out on a berth in the Class 4A sectional finals Friday.

Ladue won four three-set matches and slipped past the Lady Tigers 5-4 during the sectional semifinals at the Southeast Missouri State University courts.

Ladue advances to meet powerhouse St. Joseph's Academy today in the sectional final in St. Louis.

Central is done with its season as a team, but three Lady Tigers -- singles player Liz Russell and the doubles team of Sarah Chaudhari-Jessica Burns -- will compete in the state individual tournament next weekend in Springfield.

"We played for six hours," said Central coach Annette Slattery following Friday's marathon match. "We knew it would be a really close match. We lost some tough three-set matches, but I thought we played well."

Singles

1. Liz Russell (C) def. Amy Paskal 6-4, 6-2

2. Blaire Peterson (L) def. Sarah Chaudhari 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)

3. Jenny Bickel (L) def. Kelley Green 3-6, 7-5, 6-2

4. Jamie Berglund (L) def. Rebecca Bieser 6-2, 6-4

5. Jessica Burns (C) def. Emily Rosen 6-2, 6-2

6. Trisha Bennett (C) def. Amy Rosen 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)

Doubles

1. Paskal-Peterson (L) def. Russell-Green 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4

2. Chaudhari-Burns (C) def. Bickel-E.Rosen 4-6, 6-0, 6-1

3. Berglund-A.Rosen (L) def. Bieser-Bennett 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

VOLLEYBALL

Southern Missouri 15-15

Eagle Ridge Christian 13-12

POPLAR BLUFF -- Southern Missouri Christian (6-0) remained undefeated by edging out Eagle Ridge Christian (2-5) Friday night.

Eagle Ridge's Blair Seevers recorded nine service points; Amber Karnes and Ashley Hughes recorded eight service points each; and Rachel Carbaugh had four kills and three digs.

Eagle Ridge's JV won 15-12, 15-6 to improve to 6-0.

Woodland 15-15

Advance 3-8

WOODLAND -- It was Senior Night at Woodland High and one senior in particular helped the Lady Cardinals defeat the Lady Hornets of Advance in two sets.

Senior Sarah Booth led the charge for Woodland (20-4) with six kills, five digs and 13 service points; Jessica Bollinger notched eight kills; Lilo Whitener recorded two block kills; and Amanda Jordan added 10 assists.

Amber Bond and Sheila Stubenrauch added two kills each in the loss for Advance (4-16-2).

Woodland's JV team prevailed 15-10, 17-15.

Meadow Heights Tournament

PATTON -- In the Meadow Heights Tournament semifinals, top-seeded Leopold dispatched of fourth-seeded Zalma 15-4, 15-2 to advance to today's championship game against Meadow Heights.

For Leopold (16-5), Holly Jansen, Megan Keith and Gwen Vandeven all notched four kills each. Sarah Gowen had seven assists and six digs while Jennifer Elfrink added 10 digs.

In the other semifinal, second-seeded Meadow Heights edged third-seeded St. Vincent 15-11, 12-15, 15-9.

Holly Boyd paced Meadow Heights (14-6) with eight kills and two blocks; Ashley Brune added five kills, two blocks, two aces and nine digs; Emily Heitman recorded seven kills and one ace; and Lisa Jones added five kills.

For St. Vincent (6-15-2), Jessica Lakeman recorded 19 kills, seven points and five blocks. Teammate Casey Kirn added six points and 20 assists, while Danielle Sutterer had seven kills.

Leopold will play Meadow Heights at 2 p.m. for the championship. St. Vincent will play Zalma for the third-place game.

In consolation play, sixth-seeded Oak Ridge defeated seventh-seeded Marquand 15-9, 15-4. Oak Ridge will face fifth-seeded Notre Dame in today's consolation championship game.

Leopold's JV will play Meadow Heights for the junior varsity championship game at 1 p.m. today.

All tournament action will begin at 10 a.m. today.

JV BOYS SOCCER

Cape Central 2, Jackson 1

Paul Miller scored both goals Thursday as Central's JV slipped past Jackson.