Notre Dame to launch year with Sportsfest

In need of a high school sports fix, then Notre Dame Regional High School is the place for you.

Starting on Thursday and running through Saturday, Notre Dame will host its annual Sportsfest. Sportsfest includes tournaments in volleyball, soccer and softball.

All three tournaments typically attract some of the top area teams, along with some strong teams from across the state. For area soccer fans Thursday will be the season openers for all three local teams.

Soccer and softball will open up the weekend's events with games on Thursday. In softball, Thursday's lone game will match host Notre Dame against Delta at 4 p.m. Kelly, the only other area softball team in the field, will play Friday against Park Hills Central. The championship for the softball tournament is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Soccer will have a full schedule on Thursday, with an intriguing matchup of host Notre Dame and St. Pius at 6:30 p.m. St. Pius defeated the Bulldogs 1-0 in the district finals last season. Central and Jackson will also be in action on Thursday. The soccer championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday.

Volleyball begins on Friday. Notre Dame, Jackson, Perryville and St. Vincent will compete in the tournament. Other top teams look to be Trinity Catholic and Marshfield. The championship match is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.

Lueders excels with AAU team

While Saxony Lutheran junior guard Lauren Lueders will once again play with the boys this season, over the summer she was off showing why she will likely be a sought after women's basketball recruit.

Lueders competed this summer on the 16-and-under Game Face AAU squad, a team consisting of some of the top high school players in the St. Louis area. Game Face finished its season with a fifth-place finish at the AAU National Tournament.

Lueders' high school coach, John Daniel, attended some of her AAU games and said since the national tournament he has been contacted by numerous colleges.

"She will get a great opportunity somewhere," he said.