BOAZ, Ala. — The Pearl River volleyball team walked out of day one of the Snead State Classic in Boaz, Ala., with a split on Friday. The Wildcats swept Bevill State in their opening match (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) and dropped an exciting five-set match against Walters State (22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11).

"Thinking back on when we played a tournament close to this one in early September, I can clearly see these kids have come a long way in the last month," Pearl River head coach Haley Chatham said. "Today, we were able to handle with ease a Bevill team that we lost to earlier this season.

"Tomorrow, we are going against some great teams in Wallace and Snead, but the competition will only make us better as we go back into conference play this week," Chatham said. 

PEARL RIVER 3, Bevill State 0
SET ONE
Pearl River (9-18; 3-3) jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead over Bevill State (6-25; 1-9 ACCC) and set the tone for the match. The Wildcats were able to keep Bevill State off balance throughout the set, building a seven-point lead, 11-4, following a five-point service run, with two aces, by Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension). PRCC kept momentum and took set one, 25-13.

SET TWO
The Wildcats again jumped out to an early lead on Bevill State. Jordyn Wilks (Independence, La.; Hammond Magnet) helped build a 4-2 lead with consecutive service points. Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) followed Wilks's lead with a three-point service run to extend the Wildcat lead, 16-8. Sophie Warren (Brandon) closed out set two for Pearl River with three service points, giving the Wildcats a second set victory, 25-17.

SET THREE
Not resting on her laurels, Wilks opened the third set with eight consecutive service points to give Pearl River a 9-2 early advantage. The Wildcats did not relinquish the lead throughout set three, building a 10-point advantage, 22-12. The Wildcats closed the set on a Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) ace, 25-14.

"Our much-improved defense at the net and in the backcourt allowed us to be dynamic and terminal, offensively," Chatham said. "Our serving made it hard for their setters to get good attack options." 

WALTERS STATE 3, PEARL RIVER 2
SET ONE
The Wildcats and Walters State (17-5; 5-0 TCCAA) both came out on the attack in set one. The Senators opened with a 3-1 lead but were not able to maintain momentum as Pearl River grabbed a two-point lead, 7-5, behind the strong net play of Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) and AnnaLaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy). With the score tied at 11-11, a four-point service run by Madison Butler (Biloxi; D'Iberville) helped give the Wildcats a cushion midway through the opening set, 14-11, and force a Senators timeout. Walters State took advantage of the timeout and went on a four-point run to take the lead, 16-14. The Senators were able to hold onto the lead and secure a set one victory, 25-22. 

SET TWO
Set two followed the same script as set one, with both teams trading points early on in the set. With the Wildcats down 3-2, Mears tied the match with a big block. Mears then followed with three service points to give Pearl River a 6-3 lead. Walters State fought back to take a 9-8 lead, but a Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) kill at the middle of the net brought the score level 9-9. Both teams traded points throughout the set as each tried to grab momentum to no avail. The Wildcats were able to out last the Senators and tie the match with a hard-fought 25-23 set-two win. 

SET THREE
The two teams came out swinging in the third set. With the set knotted at five apiece, Rann gave the Wildcats some breathing room with a five-point service run aided by a block by King to keep the run alive, 10-5. The Senators chipped away at the Wildcat lead and take a two-point advantage, 17-15. The Wildcats defense reduced the deficit to one, and Rann's serving once again gave the Wildcats the lead, 18-17. Pearl River could not hold on to the slim margin, and the Senators grabbed a one-set advantage with a 25-23 set three win.

SET FOUR
Butler set the tone early in set four, opening the set with an ace, 1-0. Not to be outdone, Wilks served up an ace to give the Wildcats an early 4-1 lead. Pearl River extended their lead to four, 8-4, forcing the Senators to call a timeout. Walters State was able to capitalize on the break and reduce the deficit to one, 8-7. With the score tied 15-15, Rann again came through at the service line with four service points to give the Wildcats a 19-15 lead. The Senators battled back again and got within two points of the Wildcats, 21-19. Warren, assisted by a Mears kill, halted the Senators momentum with three straight service points to give the Wildcats a five-point lead, 25-19. Mears closed the set with an emphatic kill to give the Wildcats a 25-20 win and tie the match 2-2.

SET FIVE
Set five continued the theme of the first four sets, with each team trading points throughout the set. Momentum could not be found early on, as neither team could build a lead of more than two points. The Senators were able to break through late in set five and win the set, 15-11.

"Walters is a good team, and I think we competed with them until the very last point of the fifth set," Chatham said. "We kept it close until we got stuck in a rotation with tough matchups for a few points around ten, and it fell their way for most of the points after."

NEXT UP
The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday for day two of the Snead State Classic in Boaz, Ala. They will play Wallace State-Hanceville at 11 a.m. and Snead State at 3 p.m.

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