St. Joseph wins 3 at Paris Tournament

By Amanda Smallwood
UCA sportswriting

St. Joseph’s Lady Bulldogs defeated all three 3-A Central conference opponents to win the Paris Tournament on Saturday, making them 8-0 for the season.

“The team played very well at the tournament, but we still need to focus on our communicating skills on the court," junior Jordan Justice said.

In its first match, St. Joseph beat Green Forest's Lady Tigers, 25-22, 25-7, 25-16. Junior Jessica Justice delivered 26 assists and four aces. Junior Amy Schichtl led with the offense with 11 kills; Jordan Justice added 14 digs.

In Match 2, St. Joseph defeated the Booneville Lady Bearcats, 22-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-13.

“Booneville is a (Class) 4-A school that we don’t usually play,” sophomore Courtney Briggler said. “We lost the first game but we had to come together and come back hard to win the last three games.”

Jessica Justice had 44 assists and five aces. Jordan Justice had 15 digs — the only ones for the match. Schichtl recorded 26 kills and Briggler nine. In Games 2 and 4, Jessica Justice served nine points in a row.

Coach Luke Davis said, “Every girl that played contributed today in some way. That’s what we need if we want to go deep in the season.”

In the final match, the Lady Bulldogs demolished Paris' Lady Eagles, 25-15, 25-15, 25-19.

Schichtl had five kills and seven aces. Senior Katie Reinhard served three aces.

“This was a good day for us," Davis said. "I was worried about endurance because we played three matches in a row, but the girls did really well.”

Davis said St. Joseph could possibly see Paris and Green Forest later in the season, so this tournament was good exposure to North Conference play.