No. 1 ND turns back Jackson

Notre Dame's volleyball team continued to show why it is ranked first in Southeast Missouri and cruised past visiting Jackson 25-13, 25-21 Thursday night.

The Bulldogs improved to 23-3-1. Jackson, tied for fourth in the area poll, fell to 16-3-1.

Sommer McCauley had an impressive all-around match for Notre Dame with seven kills, seven assists, four digs, 12 service points and four aces.

Valaree Rutherford and Emily Buehrle added five kills apiece, Allison Essner had 11 assists and Laura Browne contributed five blocks.

"We played a very good match," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "We've had three hard matches this week with Advance, Park Hills and Jackson, and we've been up for all of them."

Jackson's JV won 25-21, 25-23, and the Indians also won the freshmen match 28-26, 25-16.

Advance 25-25, Puxico 10-17

Nicole Tropf served 11 aces as the Hornets bounced back from Tuesday's loss at Notre Dame with an easy home win.

Dana Williams had six kills, four blocks and four digs for Advance (15-5). Nicki Kennedy had four digs. Alicia Broshuis added eight assists.

Advance's JV won 25-22, 25-17.

Leopold 25-25, Oran 10-11

Amber Nenninger had nine kills and two blocks as Leopold rolled past visiting Oran.

Lori Vandermierden had four kills for the Wildcats (11-3). Tasha Thiele had three kills and four aces. Melissa Stroder added three kills and Tanya Arnzen had two kills. Rachel Crader added four assists and two kills.

Oran's JV won 25-21, 21-25, 25-20.

Bell City 25-25, Scott City 14-7

Emily Burch posted nine kills to lead Bell City on the road.

The Cubs (13-7) got seven kills and 16 digs from Katie Niemczyk. Sarah Scherer added 12 digs.

Bell City's JV won 25-15, 25-23.

Oak Ridge 25-25, Marquand 5-17

Oak Ridge cruised to a road victory.

Erin Hahs led Oak Ridge (10-9) with six kills and four blocks. Kelsy Schaper and Cassie Ludwig each had four kills. Cheryl Berkbigler and Vicki Moll added four aces apiece.

Oak Ridge's JV won 25-6, 25-21.

Crystal City 25-25, St. Vincent 22-19

The Squaws lost at home in two games.

Miranda Weinkein served seven points for St. Vincent. Sierra Paulus had four kills and Megan Comte added four assists.

St. Vincent's JV won 25-23, 25-15 as Jackie Welker served 13 points.

BOYS' SOCCER

Central 1, Poplar Bluff 0

Central had a tough time on the road, but the Tigers were good enough to improve to 12-0. The Mules are 9-4.

Heather Orr scored his 13th goal of the season with an assist from Grant Hengst 10 minutes into the game, and keeper Tony Leuckel and the Tigers' defense made it stand. It was Leuckel's fifth shutout.

"It was a very good game by both teams," Central coach Tom Doyle said. "Both teams played well, and they gave us everything we wanted."

Central's JV (7-0-1) won 2-1. Lance Altenthal scored both goals and Cole Crist had an assist.

Notre Dame 3, Jackson 0

David Kiblinger set up two goals for Blake Urhahn in the second half and Notre Dame defeated visiting Jackson.

"Blake's got a real good feel for how to finish a play," Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn said.

Jonathan Market scored on a head-ball 15 minutes into the game on a pass from Jason Delgado. Brenden McMeel earned the shutout for Notre Dame (7-5-1).

Notre Dame's JV (7-0-1) won 3-0. Abe Dirnberger had two goals and an assist and Frank Blafiney had one goal and an assist.

SOFTBALL

Jackson 15, Twin Rivers 1

Jackson scored 13 runs over the final two innings to turn a close road game into a rout.

Kara Bollinger pitched a four-hitter for the Indians (8-11). Callie McCuan and Tricia Kluesner both had two hits while McCuan, Tara Kelley and Kelly Lichtenegger all drove in three runs.

Delta 6, Sikeston 3

Sarah Cook won her 10th game of the season as Delta posted a road victory.

Cook (10-5) allowed six hits and carried a shutout into the seventh inning.

The Bobcats (12-6) had eight hits, led by Tiffany Johnson's 3-for-3 performance. Ashley Martin doubled twice and Cook added two hits.

CROSS COUNTRY

Anna-Jonesboro Invitational

Central had a big day in the eight-team Illinois meet as the girls finished first and the boys were second.

Holly Shaffer placed third as she led three Lady Tigers in the top five. Linnea Woldtvedt was fourth and Cassie Kipper fifth. Also in the top 15 were Allison Dohogne (10th), Hannah Lewis (11th), Jennifer Pancoast (12th) and Stephanie Watts (14th).

John Kipper was fourth to lead five Tigers in the top 10. He was followed by Alex Schneider (fifth), Corey Huskey (seventh), Corey Main (ninth) and Daniel Austin (10th). Paul Stone was 15th.

In JV races, where no team scores were kept, Central's Ashley Godsey and Emily Ponder went one-two on the girls side while Dale Brannock, Carson Kelley, Sean Westrich and Brett Cardin filled the top four boys spots.

GIRLS' TENNIS

Jackson 9, Caruthersville 0

Jackson lost only seven games in singles play in a road shutout.

Kelly Mitchell, Sarah Hinkebein, Megan Beil, Shannon Cobb, Chelsea Walker and Jessica Drumm all won for the Indians (6-8).

-- From staff reports