POPLARVILLE, Miss. — For a third consecutive season, the Pearl River volleyball team will play for the Region 23 Championship as the Wildcats made quick work of fourth-seeded Northeast 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-18) Friday afternoon inside Shivers Gymnasium.
"I thought we did a really good job of playing a high-level game throughout," head coach Haley Chatham said. "We stayed up and didn't let them get too close, especially in the first and third sets. When things are rolling and everything is good, it's easy to do things halfway. We didn't do that today, and I was proud of that."
Pearl River awaits the winner of Itawamba and Northwest for Saturday's 4 p.m. championship match.
"No matter which team wins, we're going to have to do a lot of work to get past them and get to Mobile," Chatham said. "Neither of them will make it easy for us. We're just trying to keep everything the same. We're going to act as if it's just another match. Our routine will stay the same."
MATCH RECAP
Pearl River (22-13 overall) started the match on a dominant run, cruising out to a 7-3 advantage with the help of a Lauren McLamore (Brandon) ace. Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) extended the lead to 10-4 after rising high into the air and sending a forceful kill down onto the court.
The lead swelled to 13-5 after a long rally between the teams ended when Sammie Smith (Biloxi; D'Iberville) sent a ball off the right hand of a diving Northeast (6-27) player and down for a kill.
Smith struck again to make the score 18-11, putting her all into a kill swing that bounced off a dig attempt and out of bounds by the scorer's table. Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) joined in on the party to grow the advantage to 20-13 as her swing sent a ball flying through a kill attempt and down onto the court.
Back-to-back kills by Bartholomew swelled PRCC's lead to 22-14. The first clipped the top of the net, which altered the ball's path and allowed it to drop in front of a nearby defender.
The set ended not long after, thanks to an impressive Hannah French (Ocean Springs) dig that resulted in a Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) kill, 25-16.
Set two was more of the same for the Wildcats as they jumped out to a 7-4 lead and extended it to 10-4 when the reception attempt by the Tigers crossed back across the net, and Smith was there to smash it down.
A trio of sophomores combined for a Wildcat point shortly after. Abbie Franks (Ocean Springs) dove to earn a dig. One touch later, Delaney Sisson (Auburn, Ala.) set the ball perfect for Smith to hammer home a kill, 13-6.
Pearl River pulled ahead 17-10, but the Tigers didn't lay down as they fought to cut the deficit to three points, 17-14. Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) sent a kill flying off the extended right hand of a NEMCC player for a kill a few plays later, 19-15.
Lillie Franks picked up an impressive kill to make the score 22-20 Pearl River later, mashing a ball off the shoulder of Northeast's setter that ended up in the nearby bleachers. PRCC held on to win the set 25-20.
PRCC wasted no time building a nice advantage in the third set, going on a quick 6-1 run. Jolee Gibson (Brandon) started it by dropping in an ace. Smith and Hoffmayer lasered kills down onto the court on the following two plays. After a NEMCC error, Gibson served a knuckleball across the net that fell onto the court for an ace.
The Wildcat lead was sitting at 14-6 midway through with the help of an Abbie Franks kill and a Bartholomew ace. Smith picked up another kill by extending high into the air to make the score 17-6.
Pearl River kept its foot on the gas in the late portion of the set. Gibson picked up her third service ace of the set by clipping the top of the net and getting the ball to fall. Her next serve was received by the Tigers, but it ricocheted back across the net, and Smith slammed it down, 22-14.
King ended the set a few points later with a kill, 25-18, earning Pearl River the clean sweep in its Region 23 Tournament opener.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now for $12 and can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Pearl River 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.
TUNE IN
All matches for the 2023 Region 23 Tournament will be 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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).