PENSACOLA, Fla. — Pearl River volleyball competed in day two of the Pensacola State invitational on Friday, splitting its matches against Roane State and Gadsden State. PRCC fell to the Raiders 3-0 (17-25, 14-25, 16-25) and took down the Cardinals 3-1 (25-10, 25-22, 20-25, 25-10).
"This tournament has handed us stiff competition, and we are here for it," head coach Haley Chatham said. "We hope that every set, win or lose, we find a way to get better. Our hope is to win every match that we should win and steal a few of the ones we shouldn't. The second match was one we should win, and I'm happy we were able to bounce back and take it."
ROANE STATE 3, PEARL RIVER 0.
The Wildcats (6-2 overall) took an early 3-1 advantage in the first set of the day with the help of an Addie McNeely (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) kill.
Roane State (8-0) roared back to even things up, which began a back-and-forth battle throughout the middle portion of the set. With the score locked at 9-9, RSCC began to pull away and eventually took an 18-13 advantage.
The Wildcats continued to fight, but the Raiders put an end to the set, 25-17.
Pearl River fell behind early in the second set of the day, 8-4. The Raiders started to pull away, going ahead 14-9 a few points later, and eventually took the set 25-14.
Set three was more of the same for the Raiders, who wasted no time building out an advantage. PRCC continued to fight, but Roane State clicked on all cylinders as they cruised to a 25-16 win.
PEARL RIVER 3, GADSDEN STATE 1.
While Pearl River's first match against Gadsden State this year was a back-and-forth affair, the Wildcats came out of the gate on fire in the second match against the Cardinals. PRCC snatched the momentum away quickly and ran away with a 25-10 victory in the first set.
Late in the second set, PRCC was clinging to an 18-16 lead before a Cardinal player hit the ball into the net on a return attempt to increase the advantage to 19-16.
PRCC moved ahead 24-19 soon after when the Gadsden State kill attempt sailed long and went out of bounds. Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) ended the set with a kill dropped between a trio of GSCC defenders, 25-20.
Gadsden State had to fend off defeat in the third set of the evening and were on a mission to do just that, taking a quick 8-2 advantage. PRCC pulled within three points, 16-13, midway through the set as Jolee Gibson (Brandon) set up McNeely for a tip that went off the hands of a Cardinal player and onto the court.
Pearl River kept the set close down the stretch, but the Cardinals closed it out with a 25-20 victory.
The Wildcats were ready to put the match to bed in the fourth set as they jumped out to a very quick 14-7 lead over the Cardinals. Gibson scored 19-8 soon after when she dropped in an ace. The Wildcats kept their foot on the pedal and ended the set with a dominant 25-10 victory.
UP NEXT
Pearl River wraps up the Pensacola State Invitational on Saturday with a 12 p.m. match against Snead State. The match will be livestreamed at PirateNetwork.live.
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