POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The weekend may not have gone to plan for the Pearl River volleyball team, but the Wildcats got back to winning ways Monday night inside Shivers Gymnasium, taking down Gadsden State 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-10).
The match was the second time PRCC and GSCC have gone to five sets this season.
"Tonight was faster and better volleyball. We had a different gameplan the last time we faced them," head coach Haley Chatham said. "We just got back from playing a lot of volleyball over the weekend. I knew we were ready to swing and cover our hitters tonight."
Pearl River (4-10 overall) was in a tight one during the opening set before Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) picked up a pair of big blocks that helped push the Wildcats ahead 10-7.
The Cardinals (3-7) didn't go away, though, as they pulled level four times in the set at 12-12, 13-13, 15-15, and 19-19 despite the early deficit. Pearl River retook the lead on a Gadsden State miscue and grew its advantage on an Olivia Shirley (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) solo block and a Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) service ace, 21-19.
PRCC made the score 24-21 with the stellar defensive effort of Rann, who dove to get her hand under a ball that was destined for the court. The play quickly led to an Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) kill. Williford ended the first set shortly after with another kill, 25-23.
The second set opened with another defensive highlight for Pearl River. A ball smashed off a Wildcat defender was headed straight for the back wall and out of bounds. Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) reacted quickly, ranging deep to keep the ball in play. Allie Varner (Madison; Germantown) kept the rally going with a diving dig. Williford finally smashed a kill to pick up the point.
PRCC maintained the lead for a bit, but Gadsden State battled back to move in front. The Wildcats fought hard during the middle and late portions of the set but couldn't recover from a deficit, falling 25-17.
The theme of the match heading into the third set had been solid defense, and it didn't stop there. After PRCC took a 1-0 advantage, Madison Butler (Biloxi; D'Iberville) helped make the score 2-0 by weaving around PRCC's bench to keep a ball in play that ended in a Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) kill.
GSCC pulled it within two points at 5-3 before PRCC rattled off five straight points, thanks in part to a Campbell Bailey (Elberta, Ala.; St. Michael's) kill, 9-3. Bailey put some force into one a few plays later to extend the lead to 12-4.
The Cardinals jolted back into the set late, pulling within four points at 19-15 to force a Wildcat timeout.
Mears used a well-time tip to catch the Cardinals off-guard, and Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) picked up a monster block to swell the lead to 22-16. Pearl River eventually finished it off when Hoffmayer added a kill, and Mears polished the set off with an ace, 25-17.
The Wildcats fell behind early in the fourth set, and it was a deficit they couldn't recover from, dropping the set 25-17 to send things to a decisive set five.
Although the Wildcats didn't score the first point of the fifth set, they scored the next five to take a 5-1 advantage. PRCC's lead grew to 7-2 with the help of a Sophie Warren (Brandon) diving save that resulted in a point.
The Wildcats used the early momentum gained to pull out a 15-10 victory in the set.
UP NEXT
Pearl River continues a homestand Friday as Lurleen B. Wallace comes to Shivers Gymnasium. First serve is set for 4 p.m.
TICKETING
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $8. Tickets purchased on gameday are $10. Season passes can be purchased for $66.
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.
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