PIEDMONT -- The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the Clearwater Invitational on Saturday, but came up short with a 25-22, 25-14 loss to Eminence.

After a close score in the first game against the Redwings, the Lady Mules fell behind 9-0 in the second game and were unable to battle back.

Prior to the semifinals, The Lady Mules went 2-1 on the day with a 25-16, 25-20 loss against Lesterville. They bounced back with wins over South Iron (25-20, 25-17) and host Clearwater (25-21, 25-19).

For the tournament, the Lady Mules had 44 kills total, Jamie Fritts led with 12 while Abby Ivie, Grace Griffith and Blake Talkington each had seven kills. Ivie lead the team with 13 assists. Fritts totaled five aces and six solo blocks on the day. Talkington had 24 digs.

The team had 39 kill errors on the day.

"We didn't do well with finishing the ball," Poplar Bluff coach Mike Berry said.

Poplar Bluff (7-6) will travel to Bernie on Monday.

SOCCER: After a pretty good start to the Parkway tournament Friday night in St. Louis, the Poplar Bluff Mules' tough schedule caught up to them Saturday afternoon and the Mules finished the weekend 0-2-1.

Friday night against Parkway North, the Mules almost escaped with a win, but instead came away with a 2-2 tie.

The Mules trailed 1-0 going into the second half, but the team came out aggressive and tied it up with a goal by Dustin Calvert, assisted by Josh Thompson.

"The boys started to play quite a bit better in the second half," Poplar Bluff coach Derek Reasons said.

Reasons noted the game got pretty physical with the Vikings in the second half.

Thompson earned a penalty kick after being shoved in the box with about five and a half minutes left in the half. He beat the goalkeeper to give the Mules the 2-1 lead. It was Thompson's team-leading fifth goal of the season.

The Vikings didn't relent though as they got their own penalty kick in the box just a minute later to knot things up for good at 2-2.

Jay Raulston made 16 saves.

In Saturday's action, Poplar Bluff looked like a team playing six games in seven days.

The Mules lost 5-0 to Parkway West as the Longhorns scored twice in the first half.

"With the schedule, it was gonna be a tough weekend for us," Reasons said. "I knew we would hit a slide sooner than later. You can only do so much on tired legs."

Poplar Bluff returned to the field in the afternoon against Parkway South, losing 10-0.

"If we thought things were bad early, it got worse," Reasons said. "They had an extremely, very well organized attack. They had very good skills, a lot of good touches. They were great players."

Billy Powell and Drew Ernest each split the time in net for the first time on varsity this season. Powell made 12 saves while Ernest had five.

"I was definitely happy with Friday's game," Reasons said. "The kids responded very well, especially after playing Cape (Central) Thursday night. They are still gelling even though the scores Saturday won't indicate it."

The Mules return to action Tuesday night at Sikeston.

SOFTBALL: The Lady Mules' softball tournament in Jackson on Saturday was postponed due to the rain Friday night. No makeup has been announced.