Central spikers post first wins

Central picked up its first two wins of the season Tuesday at the SEMO Conference Volleyball Tournament at Cape Girardeau Central High School.

The Tigers swept their pool, defeating New Madrid County Central and Sikeston to advance to the semifinal round today at 5 p.m. against Oran.

The Tigers made short work of New Madrid 25-23, 25-10, then edged Sikeston 19-25, 25-22, 15-11. Mellisa Espinoza had seven kills against Sikeston, while Kaci Pletcher added 10 assists for Central (2-2). Against New Madrid, Pletcher dished out six assists and Kyla Valleroy had five aces.

Scott City also posted a pair of victories to advance to today's semifinals against Sikeston. The Rams cruised past Chaffee 25-8, 25-8, then beat Oran 26-24, 25-12. Kacie Cartrwight finished with 15 kills on the day. Ashton Phillips added six kills and had seven digs against Oran. Lindsey Amick had 35 assists and eight aces in the two matches.

Notre Dame 25-25

Bernie 16-23

Lauren Mehner had 10 digs and four kills, and Amber Karnes added 22 assists and four kills to lead Notre Dame to a home sweep. Allison Essner had 20 assists, Rachel Weidenbenner had 10 kills and Kelsey Scheeter had six digs for the Bulldogs (7-1-1).

Notre Dame's JV won 33-31, 25-23.

Saxony Lutheran 25-25

Marquand 11-13

Saxony Lutheran hammered Marquand at home for its first victory.

Stacey Manche had eight aces and two kills, while Jamie Werner added seven aces for the Crusaders (1-1).

Puxico 26-27-25

Woodland 28-25-18

Puxico prevailed in three sets to hand Woodland (3-1) its first loss of the season.

Meadow Heights 25-13-26

Leopold 14-25-24

It took Meadow Heights three sets to win at home.

Julie Hahs and Chastity Wilfong had five kills apiece for the Panthers (3-1).

Leopold's JV won 25-16, 20-25, 25-12.

Bell City 25-25

Zalma 10-10

Bell City cruised to a home victory to improve to 3-1.

Katie Niemczyk had 14 digs, while Emily Burch and Megan Flagley added 10 digs each for the Cubs.

Bell City's JV won 25-21, 25-13.

SOFTBALL

Notre Dame 3, Poplar Bluff 2

Beth Schnurbusch struck out eight and helped Notre Dame beat Poplar Bluff by a run for the second time in less than a week.

Schnurbusch allowed seven hits and walked two. Notre Dame improved to 7-0.

Poplar Bluff 001 001 0 -- 2 7 0

Notre Dame 100 101 X -- 3 6 2

WP -- Beth Schnurbusch, 5-0. LP -- Ploetze. 2B -- Whitney Ostendorf (N), Alana Weissmueller (N), Ploetze (P). Multiple hits -- Poplar Bluff, Minks 2-2; Notre Dame, Weissmueller 2-3; Kristain Burger 2-3. Records -- Notre Dame 7-0.

Delta 4, East Prairie 2

The Bobcats improved to 5-3 with a road win. Sarah Cook struck out seven and walked two for the win. Cook allowed six hits and one earned run.

Delta 102 000 1 -- 4 6 0

EP 200 000 0 -- 2 6 0

WP -- Sarah Cook, 5-3. LP -- Thomure. 2B -- Kacie Seabaugh (D). Multiple hits -- Delta, Shea Smith 2-4. Records -- Delta 5-3.

Chaffee 6, Perryville 5

Chaffee won a wild game at home with three seventh-inning runs.

After pitching a strong game, Chaffee's Whitney Horrell ran into problems in the seventh, as Perryville (4-4) scored five times to take a 5-3 lead. Chaffee (3-1) then bounced back with three runs on five hits to win. Courtney Walter, who picked up the win, scored the game-winner on a wild pitch.

Mindy Hendrix had three hits, and Rachel Hendrix and Suzanne Reischman added two apiece for Chaffee. Sarah Dooley had two RBIs for the Red Devils.

Sikeston 3, Central 1

Central dropped to 1-5 with a road loss. The Tigers managed their only run in the fifth.

GIRLS TENNIS

Jackson 5, Sikeston 4

Jackson needed a 9-7 win from its No. 3 doubles team to improve to 2-3.

Singles

1. Jenni DeWitt (S) def. Jessica Drum 8-4

2. Chelsea Gilliland (S) def. Shannon Cobb 8-2

3. Tess Marshall (S) def. Chase Crowell 8-4

4. Maddy Bruegging (J) def. Brittney Bohannon 8-6

5. Sarah Hinkebein (J) def. Jessica Colwick 8-2

6. Ellyn Beil (J) def. Emily Bowman 8-6

Doubles

1. DeWitt-Gilliland (S) def. Drum-Cobb 8-4

2. Crowell-Bruegging (J) def. Bohannon-Bowman 8-5

3. Hinkebein-Beil (J) def. Marshall-Colwick 9-7

Jackson JV 10-2

JV winners

Singles: Katie Davis, Amber Terry, Alynda Lane, Maddie Rupke, Charly Fausett, Ashley Sneathen, Casey Schneider, Kami Miinch

Doubles: Davis-Terry, Fausett-Emily Hoffman

--From staff reports