RIDGELAND, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball dropped the finale of its three-match road trip to Belhaven Tuesday night. The Wildcats rallied late in the first two sets but came up short and were swept by the Blazers 3-0 (23-25, 18-25, and 15-25).
"We saw some good things tonight that we were able to improve upon from Saturday, but we also left room for improvement on things like serving and passing tonight," head coach Haley Chatham said. "We are still learning and growing each match and I look for them to keep getting better and better."
SET ONE The Wildcats (2-4 overall) grabbed an early 2-0 lead in set one, but Belhaven (1-0) responded quickly tying the set at 2-2.
From there the teams exchanged blows eventually landing at a 12-12 deadlock.
The Blazers gained the lead 12-9, but the Wildcats responded quickly through two blocks by Anna Claire Sheffield (Canton; Jackson Academy) and a Hannah Burks (Ocean Springs; Vancleave) kill to tie the set 12-12.
The teams again traded blows working their way to a 19-19 tie.
Belhaven was sparked by a late run, taking the set 25-23.
SET TWO Despite the Blazers scoring first, Pearl River was not fazed and quickly grabbed an 8-1 lead through the serving of Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave).
Belhaven responded by going on a run of their own to cut the deficit to 8-6. The Wildcats halted the run courtesy of an Addie McNeely (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) kill.
The teams then traded scores as neither side could hold on to the advantage eventually finding themselves tied 15-15.
Another late Belhaven run gave them a 20-15 lead and the Blazers held off a late Wildcat rally to claim set two 25-18.
SET THREE The Blazers exploded to an early 5-0 lead. The Wildcats ended the early run but were never able to find their footing in the final set of the day as Belhaven coasted to a 25-15 victory, completing the sweep.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) led the Wildcats with five kills. She also added a service ace.
Burks finished with four kills and two service aces.
McNeely pitched in with two kills and assisted on a block.
UP NEXT The Wildcats return to Shivers Gymnasium Friday for a matchup with Louisiana College. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
TUNE IN All home Pearl River Volleyball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
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