Notre Dame's volleyball team struggled with its hitting but, with the help of some strong serving, found its way to a 15-13, 15-4 home victory over Central Tuesday night.

Valaree Rutherford scored eight straight points on her serve to bring Notre Dame -- ranked No. 1 in the SEMO Top 10 poll -- back in the first game. Rutherford put up four aces during that streak.

Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup, who saw her team improve to 27-4-1, was impressed with the progress of a Central team that fell to 2-17.

"They're going to be good in the future," she said.

Erin Pfau had a strong match for Notre Dame with six kills. Summer McCauley also was solid, with seven service points and six assists.

Stroup expects her team to be ready in their next match against Sikeston.

"We'll just get back at it tomorrow and hope we don't come out flat," she said.

Leopold 15-15, Woodland 2-3

Leopold (24-2-1, No. 2 SEMO Top 10) continued its winning ways with a strong performance over visiting Woodland.

Courtney Wesbecher led the way for Leopold with six kills. Holly Jansen and Melissa Stroder added three kills each, and Wendy Vandeven had nine assists.

For Woodland, Andrea Meyers led the way with three kills and two digs.

Leopold's JV (20-1-2) won 15-8, 15-6.

Advance 15-15, Zalma 6-9

Dana Williams had a big night and Advance (20-7-1) cruised past Zalma at home.

Williams had 12 kills, seven digs and five blocks. Kaci Cooper led the team in aces with four, and Alicia Broshuis picked up eight assists.

Advance's JV (14-7) won 15-13, 15-11.

Jackson 15-15, NMCC 4-5

Jackson (18-9-2) rolled over New Madrid County on the road in straight sets.

Jenna Leet and Molly Hartmann led the way in kills for Jackson with four apiece. Jessie Koeper led in assists with 13.

Jackson's JV (15-8-1) won 15-8, 16-14.

Bell City 15-15, Chaffee 2-3

Bell City rolled to a convincing road win over Chaffee.

Katie Niemczyk led Bell City (19-4) with eight kills and seven service points while Erin Dissler and Sarah Metcalf had five kills apiece. Sarah Scherer recorded nine service points and seven digs and Whitney Abner finished with 13 assists.

Jennifer Vandeven had 28 digs for Chaffee (6-14). Natalie Townsend and Mallory Kiefer finished with five and four blocks, respectively.

Bell City won the JV match 15-9, 15-5.

Scott City 15-15, Richland 6-4

Scott City (20-5-2) had little problem with visiting Richland.

Kelly Cook led the way with four kills for Scott City. Sidney Baer added two kills and an ace, and Megan Ressel had five assists.

Scott City's JV won 15-1, 15-13.

Bloomfield 15-15, Oran 12-5

Minus two starters and on the road, Oran (9-12) lost in straight sets to Bloomfield.

Teresa Hodges led the way for Oran with seven points, six kills and five blocks. Carmen Duncan added five points and five blocks.

Oran's JV lost 15-9, 15-7.

Oak Ridge 13-15-15, Charleston 15-3-9

Oak Ridge (7-14-1) survived a tough loss in the opener but bounced back to defeat Charleston at home.

Laura Glueck led the way for Oak Ridge with nine service points.

Oak Ridge's JV (9-6-3) won 15-6, 15-12.

Crystal City 15-15, Perryville 6-10

Perryville (6-19-3) lost at home in straight sets to Crystal City.

Casey Moll led the way for Perryville with eight points, four kills and six digs. Sarah Degenhardt added three kills while Lisa Pecaut had nine assists. Jessica Mattingly finished with 10 digs.

Perryville's JV won 15-12, 15-12.

St. Vincent 15-15, Grandview 5-9

It was Parents Night at St. Vincent (10-14-2, 4-4) and the girls didn't disappoint, winning in straight sets over Grandview.

Danielle Schremp led the way for St. Vincent with 10 service points, three aces and two kills. Chelsey Brown added eight service points, five aces and two kills.

St. Vincent's JV lost 15-12, 7-15, 16-14.

Eagle Ridge 15-8-15, SMC 6-15-4

Eagle Ridge (12-1) avenged its only loss of the season, knocking off Southern Missouri in three sets.

Rachel Carbaugh led the way for Eagle Ridge with 11 points, eight aces and three kills. Autumn Crowden added 10 points, including four aces. Cara Ervin finished with 10 points, five aces, four kills and two blocks.

Eagle Ridge's JV won 15-2, 15-2.

New Salem 15-17, Twin City 10-15

Host New Salem (9-7) survived a tough test from Twin City to win in straight sets.

Holly Jordan led the way for New Salem with 10 kills. Sarah Green had five kills and four digs, MacKenzie Jones had six assists and four digs, and Sarah Jordan added 12 service points.

BOYS' SOCCER

Central 2, Poplar Bluff 1 (2OT)

Central (13-5-1) picked up a big road win over district rival Poplar Bluff in double overtime.

The Tigers beat Bluff for the third time this season. After playing a scoreless first half, Heath Orr put the Tigers on top four minutes into the second half.

Poplar Bluff tied the game at the 60-minute mark to send the game into overtime. After a first overtime filled with good scoring chances, Orr put the Mules away for good in the 97th minute.

Grant Hengst and Jordan Duncan picked up assists for Central.

Central's JV (5-3-3) won 2-0.

Notre Dame 10, Kennett 0

Notre Dame (11-4) got goals from seven different players in a blowout win on the road.

The Bulldogs got two goals each from Jeff Brosey and Adam Prasanphanich, and one goal each from Justin Tatum, Travis Siebert, Josh Essner, Tyler Cuba and Jake Hency.

Assists went to Jonathan Market, Prasanphanich, Blake Urhahn, Wade Cramer, Dustin Haupt, Dustin Tatum, Christian Berens, Hency, Essner and Siebert. David Unterreiner was credited with the shutout.

Notre Dame's JV won big, 8-0.

Jackson 1, Sikeston 0

Stuart Knowlan scored midway through the second half off a pass from Andrew Schlick, lifting Jackson to a road victory.

Austin McDowell recorded the shutout in goal for Jackson (5-11-1).

The JV teams tied 1-1.

FOOTBALL

Central JV 27, NMCC 6

The JV Tigers (2-2) got two rushing touchdowns from Phil Brooks during a home win over New Madrid County Central Monday.

Marcus Rice ran for a TD and Brandon Seabaugh caught a TD pass from Tyrone Reece.

-- From staff reports