SENATOBIA, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team gave it an incredible effort Monday evening, battling back from two sets down to force a decisive fifth set, but Northwest held on to claim a back-and-forth battle 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 13-15).
"We had a good defensive plan, stuck to it for most of the match, and it was really effective against Northwest," head coach Haley Chatham said. "When you commit six errors in a set to 15, your chances of winning it are very slim. It was certainly a fun match. Our players showed some real fight and grit and should be proud of what they put on the court tonight. We will continue to talk about strategy, drill strategy, and work to find the right line between safe and super aggressive play in those tight situations."
"I thought our defense was good, our serve receive progressively got better through the match, our setters made good decisions, and our outsides were on fire the entire night."
SET ONE
It took a moment for Pearl River (11-12 overall; 2-1 Region 23) to settle in against Northwest (18-15; 2-0) to begin the evening as the Rangers moved ahead 4-1 in the early going.
A Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) kill and a Sammie Smith (Biloxi; D'Iberville) ace sparked the Wildcats to a 5-5 tie.
The teams were deadlocked in a tie three more times in the set, with the last coming at 13-13. NWCC pushed back ahead 15-13 before sending a serve too far and out of bounds, 15-14.
Northwest pulled ahead 22-18 late in the set. Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) and Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) got the Wildcat back on track when they combined for a block, setting the score at 22-19. On the following serve, the reception attempt by the Rangers went back across the net. Addie McNeely (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) was ready for it, rose high into the air, and smashed it back down on the opponent's side of the court for a point, 22-20.
Trailing 24-21, Pearl River rattled off back-to-back impressive points as Bartholomew tucked a kill down the line and in bounds, and Smith dropped an ace in the back left corner, 24-23.
Unfortunately for PRCC, the Rangers held on to win the set 25-23.
SET TWO
Pearl River roared out to a 6-1 lead in the second set, but the Rangers weren't affected as they battled back to cut the deficit to one point, 7-6. PRCC's lead grew to three points, 10-7, following a Bartholomew kill sent through a block attempt and down onto the court.
Smith put the Wildcats in front 14-12 at the midway point after leaping high into the air and unleashing a booming kill on the NWCC side of the court.
Seven ties followed, and the Rangers eventually gained momentum to win the second set, 25-23.
SET THREE
Pearl River had to battle to stay alive in the third set and did just that. Despite falling in an early 5-1 hole, a couple of misplays by the Rangers coupled with a Smith ace helped square things up at 6-6.
PRCC pulled ahead 9-7 following an NWCC double-hit infraction. The Wildcats used the momentum created to storm ahead 14-8. The run was aided by a Smith kill set up by Delaney Sisson (Auburn, Ala.).
Pearl River had the Rangers doubled up late in the set as they took an impressive 20-10 lead. The Wildcats had to survive a late surge by the Rangers but took care of business to win the set 25-20.
SET FOUR
Pearl River moved ahead 9-6 in the early going when Smith sent a kill off a defender's hands and out of bounds. PRCC rattled off a nice run to follow to stretch its lead to 16-9.
A pair of Bartholomew kills allowed PRCC to take a 19-12 advantage into the final part of the set. NWCC continued to fight, but the Wildcats staved off elimination for one more set with an impressive 25-21 victory.
SET FIVE
Pearl River was on fire to begin the fifth set of the night, jumping out to an 11-6 lead. PRCC briefly went ahead 13-11 as Smith tapped a ball over the net and down.
NWCC tied things up with a block, which carried forward as the Rangers took the set 15-13.
UP NEXT
Pearl River returns to Shivers Gymnasium on Thursday for a 5 p.m. match against Bishop State.
TUNE IN
All Pearl River home 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.
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.
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