The Jackson girls volleyball team defeated the Poplar Bluff Mules three sets to none on Tuesday at the Jackson High School Event Center.

The opening set started with a few mistakes from the Indians as Poplar Bluff grabbed an early lead. However, the Mules’ lead was short-lived because Jackson cleaned up their errors and cruised the 25-13 victory.

Jackson continued to roll with 25-7 and 25-9 wins in the second and third sets as the Mules had no answer for the towering height of the Indians. Jackson head coach David Mirly said his team played so well because of the way they practice.

“The fact that we practice at a very high level every single day allowed us to come out this evening and play well because I had a couple of girls play in different positions with it being senior night I wanted the seniors to get as much playing time tonight as possible,” Mirly said. “We moved Katy St. John to setter for a little bit, Halle Ponder played a little bit of front row and Maddie played some front row tonight. Those aren't positions that they normally play in games, but they do stuff like that all the time in practice. That just shows how great of a program we have, that we can run anybody out there in any position and we're going to have a lot of success.”

The Indians suffered a tough loss in straight sets on Monday at the hands of Incarnate Word Academy so even though Jackson is 2-0 in the SEMO Conference after defeating the Mules, Mirly said there is room for improvement.

“We have the potential to have a great team, but we have to continue to improve and get better because if one or two things happen differently in that Incarnate Word game, we maybe take a set, we maybe take a couple sets from them, maybe even take all three sets,” Mirly said. “So we are close, it’s exciting because we're close and it's exciting because we're not there yet. We come in for two practices on Wednesday and Thursday, and they're really going to get after it, because they know that there's room for improvement, and they want to get there.”

Jackson will head north on Friday and Saturday to take part in the Rockwood Tournament in Fenton, MO.

Around Southeast Missouri

Volleyball: Oak Ridge swept Charleston in straight sets (25-9, 25-9, 25-0) to improve to 3-1. Reagan Howe served all 25 serves in the third and clinching set. She scored seven kills and a team-high 10 aces. Kaelyn Deckerd led with eight kills, Kenadie Ward dished out 16 assists and Kingsley Bogenpohl had 12 digs.

Volleyball: Scott City fell to Fredericktown in five sets (25-19, 13-25, 16-25, 25-22, 8-15) to drop to 2-1 on the season. Lilyan Landis led the Rams with 21 Kills, Ramsey Spinks led with 30 assists, and Layla Estes led with 30 digs. Maggie Jones provided support with six kills and 25 digs.

Softball: Chaffee defeated Poplar Bluff 15-0 on the road behind a seven-run sixth-inning rally. Bailey Robertson led the Red Devils at the plate with a 4-for-4 night with three runs scored and two runs driven in. Jocelyn Hanlon drove in a team-high three runs and Jersie Lynn also had two RBIs. The Red Devils (9-1) have outscored opponents 65-2 during their seven-game winning streak.

Softball: Kelly defeated North County 5-0 at home to improve to 7-5 on the season. The Hawks were led on the circle by Alexis Wilson, who pitched a complete game with three hits and zero runs allowed with two punchouts. Blaire Riley went 2-for-4 with a double and home run and two RBIs to lead the Hawks.

Softball: Perryville defeated Sikeston 6-5 on the road for its first win of the season. Lillian Cowell pitched a complete game on the circle, striking out 12 opposing batters. Madeleine Gremaud led the Pirates at the plate with a 3-for-4 night for two RBIs on a double and triple.

Softball: Saxony Lutheran defeated Cape Central in a 10-0 shutout at home to improve to 6-1. Lilly Roth pitched all five innings and struck out five batters with two hits allowed. Maddie Preusser hit a solo home run, Myra Roth hit a triple, and Shyanne Weibrecht hit a triple among her three hits and three RBIs. Kennedy Lewis went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI.

Tennis: Saxony Lutheran defeated Cape Central 8-1 behind a doubles sweep and won in all but one singles match. Lauren Hillin and Sadie Elmore won their doubles match 8-0. Nicole Sadler was the only Tiger to win her singles match.

Tennis: Jackson defeated Farmington 8-1 behind a sweep in singles matches. Ella Montgomery and Melanie Nugent won their doubles match 8-0. The Indians will participate in the Cape Central Doubles Tournament on Sept. 13.