PENSACOLA, Fla. —  The Pearl River volleyball team gave the match its all but came up short on the final day of the Pensacola State Invitational against Snead State 3-1 (12-25, 18-25, 25-23, 23-25).

Pearl River (6-3 overall) was in another big-time battle in the early going against Snead State (8-4). The teams began the day locked in a 5-5 tie before SSCC went on a five-point run to take a 10-5 advantage. 

Abbie Franks (Ocean Springs) and Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) combined for a block midway through the set to keep Pearl River within five points, 13-8, but the Parsons ran away with the set, 25-12.

Snead State opened set two on a 7-1 run broken up by a Parson serve sailing long and out of bounds. Abbie Franks picked up a kill to make the score 8-3 moments later.

Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) brought the Wildcats within four points, 9-5, when she smashed a kill through a Parsons block attempt and down onto the court.

SSCC and PRCC traded points for a bit, and the Parsons pulled ahead 14-9 before giving Pearl River back the serve after sending a ball out of bounds. On the following play, Abbie Franks picked up a solo block to get the Wildcats within three points, 14-11.

The Parsons used a run to propel themselves ahead 19-13 near the end of the set and used the momentum gain to grab the victory, 25-18.

Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) cut the PRCC deficit to two points at 8-6 when she pushed a ball over the net and down for a kill. 

After the Parsons moved in front 19-14, the Wildcats began their comeback. Following an error by SSCC and a kill attempt out of bounds, Bartholomew lunged to her left for a dig that went back across the net and fell for a point to make the score 19-18.

Snead State continued to hold on to the lead late in the set, but Pearl River dug in and fought to stave off defeat, winning the set 25-23.

Snead State pulled ahead 8-5 to begin the fourth set, but the Wildcats responded with a run to move in front 12-10. SSCC retook the lead 15-14 and eventually extended it to 19-15.

The Wildcats pulled within two points, 22-20, following kills by Lillie Franks and Sammie Smith (Biloxi; D'Iberville). Addie McNeely (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) tied it up moments later when she sent a kill attempt packing for a block, 22-22. 

SSCC grabbed the lead right back before McNeely sent a kill attempt off a player's hands and down to keep the contest alive, 24-23, but the Parsons found the court with a kill on the follow-up to take the set, 25-23.

UP NEXT
Pearl River returns to Shivers Gymnasium on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. match against Pensacola State. 

CASHLESS BOX OFFICE
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices are cashless. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets or fans can download the HomeTown Ticketing app to their mobile device to purchase and store their tickets.

TUNE IN
The Wildcats will once again livestream all matches 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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