Oakville, 39 others set out on chase for area title

Notre Dame, Jackson and Leopold all made trips to last year's state playoffs, and the Wildcats went on to the Class 1 championship.

Before those teams could play for state supremacy, they all played in the B.A. Sports Volleyball Tournament held at the Show Me Center, the Student Recreation Center and Notre Dame Regional High School.

The 16th annual event kicks off at 5 p.m. today with 40 teams competing in the two-day tournament.

"We're really looking forward to it," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "We've played some tough teams to help us get ready."

Oakville beat Notre Dame in three games for the championship last year. Notre Dame finished second for the second straight year. Both Leopold and Jackson joined Notre Dame in the semifinals last year and will look to make return trips.

Teams will be broken up into pool play to start the tournament. The top two teams from each of the eight pools will move on to the gold bracket, with the championship game scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday.

Oakville and Notre Dame are on opposite sides of the pools again, meaning they could meet in another finals showdown.

"That's a good possibility," Stroup said. "That would be fun. We'd like a rematch. There's a lot of good teams in it, though."

Pool E should be a strong pool with teams like Scott City, Bell City and Lindbergh, which already has scored a pair of wins over Oakville this season.

Stroup said Lindbergh could be an early favorite.

"They're going to be awesome this year," she said.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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