Lesterville, Missouri is an unincorporated community in southeast Missouri. It is located in Reynolds County on Routes 21, 49, and 72 near the Black River. It is known as a popular tourist destination due to its beautiful river. On December 14, 2005, approximately 1.5 billion gallons of water flowed from a breach of the Upper Taum Sauk Lake Reservoir, north of Lesterville. The reservoir is the source of the Taum Sauk pumped storage plant, a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant owned by AmerenUE. As a result of the breach, Lesterville was voluntarily evacuated. The Lesterville R-IV School District, located on State Highway 21, is located in the area. With an average yearly enrollment of 260 students in grades K-12, it is one of the smallest public school districts in the state. Its school colors are red and black and its mascot is the bearcat. During the 2009-2010 season, the Lesterville Lady Bearcats clinched the Class 1 MSHSAA Volleyball Championship with a 25-23, 25-15 win over the Winona Lady Wildcats. Pulling several upsets along the way, the Lady Bearcats were ranked fourth in the state according to a poll released by the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association. They were seeded second in the Class 1 District 4 Tournament and defeated top-seeded Bismarck for the district championship. Bismarck was ranked third in the same poll. Advancing to sectionals at Bell City, Lesterville defeated perennial powerhouse, and No. 2 in the same poll, Leopold 22-25, 25-20, 25-22 before topping Bell City 20-25, 25-22, 25-22 which guaranteed them a bid to the Final Four in Kansas City. During pool play, Lesterville split sets with Winona and defeated Osceola and Lutheran-Kansas City. A pool-play record of 5-1 gave them the opportunity to play Winona for the state championship and the Lady Bearcats succeeded. It was in many ways a season of upsets for the Lesterville Lady Bearcats, or "the little team that could," finishing with a record of 27-5-2.