VOLLEYBALL: Pinckneyville slips by Sparta

Pinckneyville won a hard-fought match at Sparta on Thursday night, slipping past the Lady Bulldogs 31-29, 25-21 to grab first place in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference's Mississippi Division with Nashville losing at Anna-Jonesboro.

Emma Banach finished with a team-high 7 kills for the Lady Panthers, Brooklyn Morros added 6 kills. Mady Epplin led the team in digs with 10, Banach had 8. Mayci Doerflein dished out 22 assists.

The Lady Panthers (5-1 in the Mississippi Division) are off until Tuesday's home match against Du Quoin.