MOBILE, Ala. — Friday was a good day to be a Wildcat as the Pearl River volleyball team knocked off Bishop State 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21). The victory was a positive way to conclude Day 1 of the ACCC Volleyball Championship/Gulf South District Tournament inside the Mobile Civic Center.
PRCC (24-14 overall) opened the day with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) loss to Lurleen B. Wallace.
Head coach Haley Chatham attributed her team's bounce-back performance to cleaning up their half of the court.
"I think we were able to get a little more comfortable on the court and in the venue," she said. "We served much better the second match and picked up more hustle plays than we did in the first one."
With the win, PRCC will face the loser of Enterprise State and Calhoun at 11 a.m. Saturday in another elimination match.
"We will face a tough opponent tomorrow," Chatham said. "We are going to have fun, we are going to play hard, and we are going to give them our best.
"My message is do those three things, and it's anybody's game this late in the season in tournament play."
The winner of the weekend's tournament earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
LURLEEN B. WALLACE 3, PEARL RIVER 0
The Wildcats battled in the day's opener against the Saints (22-10).
PRCC's single-season and career-kills leader Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) continued to pad her lead in the opening set, registering the team's first point on a strike just inside the back corner; her second, through a double block, brought PRCC within two, 4-2.
The Saints built a slim lead, but the Wildcats battled, pulling within two, 11-9, on a tandem block from Peyton Hoffmeyer (Ocean Springs) and Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County).
PRCC attempted to mount a late rally with kills from Lillie Franks (Ocean Springs) but were unable to overcome the deficit, falling 25-17.
Franks started off the second set with a kill down the line to help the Wildcats build an early 3-0 lead. The Saints then flipped the script on PRCC, forcing a Wildcat timeout while holding a 15-10 lead.
Pearl River battled late. King found open court down the middle for a kill to bring PRCC within five, 18-13. Sammie Smith (D'Iberville) later picked up a couple kills, King had a solo block and Abbie Franks aced a serve, but PRCC couldn't overcome the deficit and fell 25-18.
The third set was the closest of the match. The Wildcats were the early aggressor once again in the third set, thanks to a Hoffmeyer kill down the line to open the frame.
Abbie and Bartholomew later teamed up for a block to pull PRCC within one, 7-6. A pair of kills from Smith kept PRCC within striking distance at 8-7 and 9-8. The Saints began to pull away, but the Wildcats battled back. A kill down the line from Bartholomew brought the score to 14-13.
Lurleen B. Wallace started to open another lead, building as much as a five-point gap, but the Wildcats wouldn't go away. A twin block from the Franks kept PRCC within one, 18-17. Although PRCC scrapped until the end, they were unable to overcome the Saints.
PEARL RIVER 3, BISHOP STATE 1
The first two sets of the day's first elimination game were almost mirror images of one another, with one team jumping out to a commanding lead only to see the trailing squad rally late.
BSCC (10-12) jumped out in the driver's seat in the first set, building a 24-11 lead. Pearl River never quit, ripping off six straight points and eventually forced BSCC to call a timeout, clinging to a 23-16 lead. PRCC took two more points from Bishop State before the green-and-gold closed out the set 25-18.
The Wildcats jumped out to a convincing lead in the second set.
After Bishop State couldn't handle a Hannah French (Ocean Springs) serve for a 6-1 lead, King slammed home a wayward BSCC pass to add to PRCC's lead.
Consecutive aces from Lauren McLemore (Brandon) forced the green-and-gold into a timeout down 10-2. McLemore promptly added another ace immediately after the break to push PRCC ahead 11-2.
A Smith kill later in the set extended PRCC's lead to 16-5. Leading 21-11, Lillie Franks roofed an opposing Wildcat. Four straight points from Bishop State forced PRCC into a timeout. Although BSCC hung around to make it a match, PRCC claimed the set 25-22.
Trailing early in the third set, Lillie Franks registered back-to-back aces to push PRCC ahead 11-10.
Bishop State began to pull away, forcing PRCC to call timeout down 18-13.
Chatham's advice worked as PRCC immediately took the next three points on a Smith kill from a Jolee Gibson (Brandon) quickset, a block from Kingand AnnaLaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy), and a Bartholomew kill.
The run forced Bishop to call a timeout.
PRCC continued to pour it on in the third set, eventually taking the frame 25-23 when BSCC couldn't return a block from Abbie Franks and King.
Staying true to the previous three sets, the fourth frame was another nip-and-tuck affair. After Smith opened the set with a kill, Bishop State built a 9-4 advantage. PRCC continued to plug away, eventually tying the match 11-11 to force a Bishop State timeout.
Back-to-back kills from Smith pushed PRCC ahead 13-12. PRCC and Bishop State traded shots for the remainder of the match, but Pearl River was too much for the opposing Wildcat squad and prevailed 25-21.
One standout in the Bishop State match was Williford, who stepped into the rotation and proved to be a reliable contributor for Chatham's Wildcats.
"Our passing wasn't as good as it could be today," she said. "AnnaLaura is so good at being the outlet when we are forced to put up out of system balls.
"Peyton had a great day and is the go-to when we are having an in-system day, but AnnaLaura came in clutch, turning not-so-good balls into points."
TUNE IN
The entirety of the ACCC Volleyball Championship can be viewed at JockJive.com.
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