PREMIER AREA VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY BEGINS FRIDAY

The area's biggest -- by far -- regular-season high school volleyball tournament will make its annual appearance in Cape Girardeau this weekend, with 30 teams battling for the title.

It's the 12th annual SEMO Classic, which will be held Friday and Saturday at four venues on the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

"This is always a very good tournament, with some excellent teams," said Jackson coach Nancy Ellis. "I'm really excited about it and I'm sure all of the teams are."

The 30 squads are divided into six pools of five teams each. After pool play matches Friday and early Saturday, 18 surviving teams will advance to a pre-determined playoff bracket.

Following is a rundown of the teams in each pool:

Pool A: Jackson, Oran, Meadow Heights, Poplar Bluff, Gideon.

Pool B: Farmington, Puxico, Bloomfield, South Iron, New Madrid County Central.

Cool C: Cape Central, Oak Ridge, Zalma, Clearwater, Rosati Kain.

Pool D: Notre Dame, St. Vincent, Woodland, Sikeston, Malden.

Pool E: Chaffee, Perryville, Leopold, Bernie, Kingston.

Pool F: Scott City, Bell City, Advance, Lesterville, Park Hills.

Friday's pool play will begin at 5 p.m., with the last matches scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Matches will be played at the Show Me Center, the Student Recreation Center and Parker Gym.

Saturday's pool play will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the last matches slated for 11:45 a.m. The contests will be at the Show Me Center, Student Recreation Center and Houck Field House.

The pre-determined playoff bracket matches will start at 2 p.m. Saturday, with play at the Show Me Center, Student Recreation Center and Houck Field House.

Quarterfinal action will be at 4 p.m., with two matches at the Show Me Center and two at the Student Recreation Center.

The semifinals will both be at the Show Me Center at 5 p.m., with the title match scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

Perennial powerhouse Bernie is the defending tournament champion, having beaten Farmington 15-6, 15-6 in last year's finals.

Bernie has won five SEMO Classic titles, including four straight from 1993-96. Bloomfield is next with two championships while no other team has more than one.