JASPER, Ala. — The Pearl River volleyball team hit the road on Saturday for a doubleheader against Coastal Alabama – East and Bevill State. The Wildcats needed all five sets against the Warhawks, winning 3-2(15-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-21, and 15-10). Pearl River grabbed momentum early against the Bears and never looked back, sweeping the match 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, and 25-15).
The two wins extended PRCC's winning streak to six matches.
"We are happy to come home with two wins," coach Haley Chatham said. "I am glad to get the experience of getting through these matches that go five sets because it can prove pivotal down the stretch."
Chatham also talked about how the team continues to improve and grow in different areas each match.
"We made minimal errors, especially in match two, and we were also able to be very offense-oriented in that game as well," she said. "We were able to use all of our personnel today and compete in two very fun matches. I know I say it every week, but this team gets better at something different in every match like making good adjustments and being really aggressive and also learning when to back off a little bit."
PEARL RIVER 3, COASTAL ALABAMA - EAST 2
Coastal Alabama – East (7-10 overall) hit the ground running in set one by opening up an early 17-9 lead. They never looked back from there, claiming set one 25-15.
Pearl River (13-8) opened the scoring in set two courtesy of an Anna Claire Sheffield (Canton; Jackson Academy) block.
From there, the Warhawks responded in a big way, claiming a 12-4 lead. The Wildcats were not fazed and proceeded to claw their way all the way back to tie things at 14-14.
Pearl River used the momentum they found and reclaimed the lead 20-16. The Wildcats held off a late Warhawk rally to claim set two 25-19.
The two teams battled throughout the early and middle portion of set three, with the Wildcats holding a slim 14-12 lead thanks to timely kills by Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon), Jasmine Burden (Biloxi), and Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave).
Coastal Alabama - East did not let that deter them as they proceeded to grab momentum and tie things 24-24. The Warhawks used the momentum gained to take the third set 27-25.
The teams opened set four by again trading blows for the early part, with the Wildcats holding on to a 13-11 lead.
Overstreet extended the lead 14-11 shortly after giving the Wildcats a little momentum. Pearl River capitalized on the momentum by working the lead out to 18-15. Despite losing the lead momentarily, the Wildcats were able to come from behind to win set four 25-21 to force a winner take all set five.
Set five started in a deadlock as neither team was willing to give an inch with things ending up deadlocked 10-10.
From there, the Wildcats found momentum through Overstreet's serving to propel themselves to a 15-10 set and match victory.
PEARL RIVER 3, BEVILL STATE 0.
Set one was all Wildcats as the Bears could not find their footing falling 25-11.
Pearl River continued to roll by starting set two on a 5-0 run highlighted by an Overstreet ace and a Sara McKinney (Delaware, Okla; Oklahoma Union) kill.
After a quick Bevill State response made the score 5-3, Pearl River went on another run, swelling the lead to 8-3.
Back-to-back kills by Bartholomew seized all remaining momentum as Pearl River proceeded to coast to a 25-12 set two victory.
The Bears opened the scoring in set three 2-0, but Pearl River responded through two thundering kills by Jamya Fondren (Oxford; Regents School of Oxford) and Jaiden Gaston (Spruce Pine, Ala; Tharptown) to tie things 2-2.
After that, the teams exchanged scores working to a 7-7 tie. The Wildcats grabbed the lead 10-7 and rode the momentum they found to a 25-15 set victory to complete the sweep.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats hit the road on Tuesday for their conference opener against Itawamba. The match is set to get underway at 5 p.m. and will be livestreamed at LetsGoICCTV.com.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).