FAVORITES FARE WELL IN CLASSIC POOL PLAY

Leopold, Zalma, Fredericktown, Bernie, Farmington, Clearwater, Park Hills Central and Borgia all put together perfect 4-0 records in pool play Friday as the 30-team SEMO Classic high school volleyball tournament got under way.

Three sites at Southeast Missouri State University -- Houck Field House, the Student Recreation Center and Park Gym -- were all busy with activity as all the squads faced two different opponents in two games apiece. The tournament features six pools of five teams each.

Zalma and Borgia both went 4-0 to lead Pool A; Fredericktown tops Pool B at 4-0 while Bell City and Jackson are both 3-1; Park Hills is 4-0 and Gideon 3-1 in Pool C; Clearwater is 4-0 and Notre Dame 3-1 in Pool D; Bernie is 4-0 and Poplar Bluff 3-1 in Pool E; and Leopold and Farmington are each 4-0 in Pool D.

More pool play will be held today at the Rec Center, Houck and Parker, with matches on several courts slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. and run until past noon.

The top two teams from each pool, along with four at-large squads, will then advance to a tournament bracket, with first-round matches set for 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Rec Center and Houck.

Quarterfinal action will be at 4 p.m. at the Rec Center and Houck, with the semifinals set for 6 p.m. at the Rec Center and the finals at 7:30 p.m. at the Rec Center.

Results in Scoreboard.

SOFTBALL

Cape Central 9, Ursuline 0

Cape Central improved to 10-3 and tuned up for today's big Jackson Tournament by rolling past the visitors from St. Louis Friday.

Kim Aslinger was the winning pitcher. She scattered seven hits while striking out six and walking six.

Amy Harris, Courtney Haman and Ashley Voerg all had two of Central's 11 hits.

Cape broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the fourth inning and the Lady Tigers coasted from there.

"We're doing well with the young team we have," said Central coach Don Lang. "We'll find out a lot more in the (Jackson) tournament."

Central's JV prevailed 8-3.