POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team fought back in each set Monday night but couldn't recover against Itawamba, falling 3-0 (19-25, 16-25, 21-25).
Pearl River (7-17 overall; 2-3 MACCC) found itself on the wrong end of a match-opening run against Itawamba (15-8; 4-1). Although the Wildcats grabbed the opening point, the Indians rattled off 10 consecutive to go up 10-1.
PRCC slowly inched its way back into the set by cutting the deficit to six points at 20-14, aided by a Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) fake set for a point. PRCC's deficit was sliced down to five points with back-to-back mistakes by the Indians, 23-18. ICC closed things out shortly after, 25-19.
Set two was more tightly contested to open things. Pearl River went up 5-3 behind two Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) aces, but Itawamba fought back to even things up and then took an 11-6 lead.
PRCC started a run in the middle portion of the set, pulling within two at 12-10. The run featured a Rann dig, a set by Sophie Warren (Brandon) and a kill just in front of the back line by Olivia Shirley (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove). Warren immediately followed it up with an ace. Annlaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) picked up the third point of the run when her kill sprung off an ICC defender and into the net.
Just when Pearl River looked to have the momentum, Itawamba recovered and rallied to take the set, 25-16.
Itawamba again had success in the beginning of a set when the third set got underway as the Indians quickly moved in front 9-4. A few ICC mistakes helped PRCC storm back to even things up at 10 apiece.
The Wildcats briefly took a 13-10 with the help of a pair of miscues and a Wheat kill through a block attempt. PRCC held on to the lead for a while, but Itawamba eventually tied things up at 16-16.
The teams traded points for a bit before ICC went on a run at the end to close out the set and match, 25-21.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to action Wednesday for a 5 p.m. match against Northwest.
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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