NOTRE DAME SPIKERS HAND JUST SECOND LOSS TO MEADOW HEIGHTS

PATTON, Mo. Notre Dame High's volleyball team has been solid if not spectacular so far this season primarily because of a rash of injuries but Friday night the Lady Bulldogs clearly showed their potential.

The Lady Bulldogs, competing in the Meadow Heights Tournament, knocked off the powerhouse host squad which had stamped itself as the area's premier squad throughout the campaign in a thrilling match 17-15, 5-15, 16-14.

It was just the second loss of the season for Meadow Heights, which is now 26-2. Notre Dame improved to 14-7-4.

"We dethroned Goliath," said an excited Notre Dame coach Helen Payne. "They really have an awesome team and this was a tough, tough match. We've had a lot of injuries but we're healthy now and I think this is the type of team we can have."

Said Meadow Heights coach Erin Hoffman, "Notre Dame played real well."

Ashley Millham led a balanced Notre Dame offensive attack with 10 kills. Ali Tyson had nine kills, Lynn Obermiller added eight and Courtney Vickery and Jennifer VanGennip contributed six each. Tyson also had 13 assists while Katie Canfield dished out 21 assists.

"Everybody contributed and we really played well as a team," Payne said.

For Meadow Heights, Tessa Bollinger had nine kills and six digs while Ashley Brune added seven kills and eight digs.

In other pool play matches Friday, Notre Dame beat Marquand 15-13, 15-8 and Meadow Heights defeated Marquand 15-2, 15-4.

Tonight, Meadow Heights and Zalma will play at 6 o'clock for third place while Notre Dame and Leopold will square off at 7 for the championship.

"We should have another great match," said Payne, looking ahead to tonight's finals. "Leopold has a very good team and I think this one could go either way."

Advance 7-15-15

Woodland 15-12-6

ADVANCE, Mo. Advance notched its 20th victory of the season as the Lady Hornets recovered from a first-set loss.

The Lady Hornets (20-7-2) were led by Emily Johnson with 11 kills. Dana Williams had eight kills while Amber Bond dished out 13 assists.

Woodland's JV prevailed 16-14, 15-1.

FOOTBALL

Perryville 17, Windsor 14

PERRYVILLE, Mo. There was finally joy in Perryville as the Pirates picked up their first win of the season by rallying past Windsor.

"It's great for the kids to finally win," said Perryville coach Lance Bell, whose team is now 1-6 heading into the start of district play next week. "It feels good. It would have been tough going into districts 0-7."

The Pirates got a big boost from freshman running back Jesse Whistler, who was promoted to the varsity two weeks ago. Whistler scored both Perryville touchdowns, on second-half runs of 12 and 10 yards. He finished with 51 yards on nine carries.

"Jesse is getting better and better," Bell said.

Mike Schmidt led the Pirates' ground game with 143 yards on 21 carries while Tim Landholt added 69 yards on 12 attempts. Perryville gained nearly 300 yards rushing as a team.

Mark Cissell kicked a 21-yard field goal and tacked on two extra points for the Pirates.

Windsor led 7-0 at halftime. Perryville grabbed a 10-7 lead after three quarters, fell behind 14-10 early in the final period and regained the lead for good with about seven minutes left in the game.

From staff reports