POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team celebrated its amazing sophomore class the right way Monday evening, sweeping Northeast 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-15) to secure a third consecutive 20-win season.
The victory marks nine in a row for the red-hot Wildcats and moves them one match closer to clinching hosting rights for the Region 23 Tournament.
"These girls have really turned it on lately," head coach Haley Chatham said. "They decided that they were ready to go on a run. Regardless of when we finish, we know it's coming to a close soon. We're focusing on enjoying every moment, each other and being thankful for each other. I'm extremely proud of these sophomores. They're going to go on and do incredible things."
MATCH RECAP
Northeast (6-25 overall; 0-6 Region 23) claimed the first two points of the evening before Sammie Smith (Biloxi; D'Iberville) got the Wildcats (20-12; 5-1) back on track by extending high into the air for a thunderous kill, 2-1.
Following a 6-6 tie, Abbie Franks (Ocean Springs) gave PRCC an advantage with a kill, and after the score was tied at 7-7, Smith added in a kill thanks to a perfect Delaney Sisson (Auburn, Ala.) set, 8-7.
The teams battled to an 18-18 tie late in the match, but that proved to be the last one. Smith sent a kill off the top of the net that slowed down the ball's momentum enough to fall in for a point, 21-19. The Wildcats put the set to rest soon after, 25-21.
Pearl River had to recover from an early deficit in the second set, falling behind 7-3 right as the set began. The Wildcats fought back to get within three points, 9-6, when Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) tucked a kill out of the reach of the diving Tiger player.
PRCC crawled within one point at 11-10 midway through. Northeast tried to return a serve, but it sailed back across the net where Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) was standing. The sophomore jumped up and smashed the ball right back down for the point.
Pearl River took its first lead of the set at 13-12 before Northeast fought back to even things up at 14-14.
Bartholomew single-handedly forced a Northeast timeout shortly after, smashing a kill down on the court before earning a solo block on a Tiger attack attempt, 17-14. The points continued to come out of the timeout for the Wildcats, thanks to a stellar defensive play from Smith and Lauren McLamore (Brandon). Smith dove to her left for a dig, and McLamore ran straight back and kept it in play without looking. PRCC got it back across the court on the next hit, and NEMCC sent a ball into the net for a PRCC point, 18-14.
Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) extended PRCC's lead out to 23-15 by hitting a cross-court kill and sending a kill through a block attempt. The Wildcats closed the set out shortly after, 25-17.
Northeast went ahead 2-1 in the early going of set three, and Smith brought the Wildcats back level again when her kill ricocheted off the hand of a Tiger player and several rows deep into the bleachers, 2-2.
NEMCC grew a 7-5 lead in the early stages of the match and then pulled ahead 11-9 at the midway point. The match swung in PRCC's favor, thanks to Smith once again. She attempted a kill that the Tigers controlled, but it bounced back across the net, and she was there to slam it home. A few plays later, she picked up a solo block to make the score 13-11.
Sitting at 15-13, PRCC rattled off seven consecutive points to grow its lead to 22-13. The run was highlighted by a pair of service aces off the right hand of McLamore.
Bartholomew wrapped up the contest soon after, sending a kill off the hands of an NEMCC player and out of bounds, 25-15.
UP NEXT
Pearl River hits the road Wednesday for its final regular season match against an MACCC foe, taking on Itawamba at 5 p.m. With a victory, the Wildcats will host the Region 23 Tournament. The match will be livestreamed at LetsGoICCTV.com.
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