SENATOBIA, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team opened MACCC play in Senatobia on Monday against Northwest in Howard Coliseum on Northwest’s campus. The Wildcats battled and showed grit in a 3-1 (18-25, 22-25, 25-18, 19-25) loss to the Rangers.
“I think we started turning a corner tonight,” Pearl River head coach Haley Chatham said. “I saw them find a will. Usually, after you find the will, you find a way. If they keep competing like they did tonight, they are going to find their way.”
The Wildcats will have a short break before traveling to Meridian on Wednesday in another MACCC matchup.
“We are going to keep a high standard of competition in practice and we’ll continue to put an emphasis on becoming more terminal on offense,” Chatham said on the preparation for Meridian.
SET ONE
Northwest (12-6 overall; 1-0 MACCC) jumped to a quick seven-point lead over Pearl River (4-13 overall; 0-1 MACCC) to open the match. A big block by Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) and a Sophie Warren (Brandon) serve brought the Wildcats within five points, 12-7. The Rangers kept the five-point lead throughout the first set before building a nine-point lead late, 22-13. The River was able to close the gap to six points, 18-24 before the Rangers were able to close out the set.
SET TWO
The Wildcats did not let an early three-point deficit get the best of them to open set two. A strong play at the net by Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) and a service winner by AnnaLaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) brought the Wildcats within one, 3-2. After both teams traded points, the Rangers were able to build a five-point lead midway through set two, 15-20. Strong play on consecutive plays at the net by Williford, Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) and Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) brought the Wildcat deficit to two, 15-13, and forced a Ranger timeout. The Wildcats carried the momentum out of the timeout with a big block at the net to drop the Ranger lead to one, 15-14. Northwest built the lead five, 20-15. Not to be deterred, the Wildcats battled back behind the serving of Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) to cut the Ranger lead to one, 20-19. Despite the Wildcats late charge, the Rangers were able to hold on and take set two, 25-22.
SET THREE
Pearl River carried the confidence built in set two and jumped out to a quick lead behind the serving and defense of Mears, 3-2. The River extended the lead to four behind a quick tap over the net by Olivia Shirley (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove), 10-6. The Rangers capitalized on two service aces to tie the score 10-10 midway through set three. With the score tied at 14-14, Hoffmayer took over at the net, knocking down three spikes to give the Wildcats a 20-15 lead.
“Peyton was able to make adjustments after the first set to able to contribute big time in the next three,” Chatham said. “She chose her shots and she gave good second efforts on defense.”
A spike by King gave the Wildcats a 23-15 lead and forced a Ranger timeout. Pearl River was able to squash a run by Northwest to take the set and force set three, 25-18.
“Madi (King) and Morgan got better in reads each set,” Chatham said. “They recognized tendencies as the match progressed and were able to make blocking a little easier on themselves by anticipating and committing.”
SET FOUR
Northwest picked up early momentum in set four building a four-point lead. King stopped the run by the Rangers with a putback at the net to cut the Ranger lead in half, 6-3. Northwest went on a run in the middle of the set to build a six-point lead, 17-11. A block by King cut the lead to five, 17-12. A five-point run fueled by the serving of Wheat brought the Wildcats within three, 20-17 before the Rangers closed out the match, 25-19.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats will travel to Meridian on Wednesday to face the Eagles at 6 p.m. The match will be livestreamed at MCCEagles.live.
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