Central volleyball reaches another tournament final

PERRYVILLE, Mo. – A grueling series of seven matches resulted in another strong showing for the Central volleyball team at a marquee tournament on Saturday.

The Lady Rebels marched into the title contest of the Perryville Invitational, and fell to champion Bishop DuBourg 25-17, 25-18 following five straight wins.

Central split with Valle Catholic 25-27, 25-16 to begin pool play, then swept Bernie (25-15, 25-21), Lesterville (25-17, 25-15) and Sikeston (25-16, 25-13) to join the Gold Bracket.

A 25-16, 25-23 quarterfinal triumph over Arcadia Valley preceded a stellar 25-15, 25-22 win over host Perryville. Central also placed second among 48 last month in the 2-day Dig for Life tournament.

Megan Skaggs compiled 55 kills, 11 blocks and 41 digs on Saturday, and Kenzie Jones had 31 kills, 41 assists and 54 digs.

Sydney Skaggs finished with 35 kills and 18 blocks while Olivia Casey tallied 40 assists, 38 digs and six aces for the Lady Rebels (22-4-1).

Ali Gremminger added 27 digs while Scarlett McCoy added 26 and Tristen Jordan had 18. Kelsie Davis chipped in 11 kills and Jenna Hulsey connected on six while Baylee Fincher served two aces.

Five of the eight teams in the Gold Bracket represented the MAAA Conference. Valle Catholic, North County, Bismarck and Arcadia Valley were each eliminated in the quarterfinal round.

Valle Catholic (16-7-1) followed its Central split by also defeating Bernie (25-20, 25-14), Lesterville (25-23, 25-19) and Sikeston (25-21, 25-14) in pool play, then fell to Bishop DuBourg (25-19, 27-25).

Susan Roth totaled 38 kills and six blocks during the tournament, and Cassandra Moulton compiled 49 assists and 21 digs for the Lady Warriors. Taylor Siebert finished with 30 assists and 19 digs.

Riley Wolk added 18 kills and Hannah Bahr notched 17. CoCo Kertz made 28 digs and Ally Doza brought up 21 while Megan Abt totaled 29 serve receptions.

North County (18-5-1) posted wins over Cape Central, Fredericktown, and De Soto while losing to St. Vincent in pool play. Perryville eliminated the Lady Raiders 25-20, 25-20.

Bismarck (14-8-1) topped Bloomfield and Scott City, split with Clearwater and lost to Perryville before dropping a 15-25, 25-22, 25-16 quarterfinal to St. Vincent.

Arcadia Valley (16-7-3) split pool matches with DuBourg and Saxony Lutheran and downed Perryville’s junior varsity and Jackson.

Fredericktown (9-11-3) was defeated by Bloomfield 25-21, 25-18 in the Bronze Bracket after placing third in its pool. The Lady Blackcats earlier beat Cape Central and tied with St. Vincent and De Soto.