JACKSON, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team's impressive run of form continued on Tuesday night. The Wildcats hit the road to take on Belhaven and made quick work of the Blazers, winning the match in straight sets 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-12). 

"I'm very happy with this win," head coach Haley Chatham said. "We looked a lot different with most of these same players against Belhaven right about this time last season.

"I like the way we have been able to forget about the points we lose and fight for the next one. It makes a difference. They keep the importance of staying organized at the front of their minds, and it helps us turn tough balls into points."

The win is PRCC's second straight over a four-year school and keeps the Wildcats' unblemished record alive.

"I'm glad we've been able to enjoy and celebrate these wins," Chatham said. "There is a ton of volleyball ahead of us and we are going to keep working really hard in the gym to be able to put our best on the court."

SET ONE
Locked in an early 3-3 tie, Addie McNeely (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) gave Pearl River (5-0 overall) a 4-3 advantage when she used perfect placement to pick up an ace. The teams were deadlocked at 7-7 moments later before Delaney Sisson's (Auburn, Ala.) serve rattled around a few defenders and fell for an ace, 8-7.

Belhaven worked itself ahead 16-11 at the set's midway point before the Wildcats started roaring back. Sammie Smith (Biloxi; D'Iberville) softly tapped a ball over the net and onto the ground for a kill to cut the deficit to 20-18.

The Blazers fought to build their lead back to five points at 23-18, but Pearl River didn't fold, fighting back to win the set 25-23.

SET TWO
Belhaven quickly stretched out a 7-4 lead in the evening's second set, and Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) cut the deficit to one point at 8-6 after an ace. Jolee Gibson (Brandon) made it a 12-10 deficit a while later with an ace of her own.

PRCC moved within one point, 17-16, when Bartholomew sent a hard-hit kill through a Blazer block attempt and onto the court.

The Wildcats finally snatched the lead with the help of Smith. The outside hitter rose high into the air and mashed a kill in front of a Blazer defender to make the score 21-20. PRCC wasted no time ending the set as Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) denied a kill attempt to pick up the 25-21, set-two win.

SET THREE
The third set of the evening was pure domination by the Wildcats from start to finish. Stellar play by the Wildcats and a flurry of Belhaven miscues helped PRCC jump out to an impressive 10-3 lead to start the match. A few points later, Pearl River extended its lead to 14-3 with the help of a Sisson ace. 

Belhaven sent two balls out of play and Abbie Franks and Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) combined for a block to extend the lead to an impressive 20-4 mark.

The Blazers began to claw their way back into the set, pulling within 11 at 23-12 to force a PRCC timeout. Following the well-timed break, PRCC put the set to rest with the help of a Smith kill and ace, 25-12.

UP NEXT
Pearl River begins the Pensacola State Invitational on Thursday with a match against Pensacola State. The action will get underway at 6 p.m. and will be livestreamed at PirateNetwork.live.

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