Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) sets a ball for a kill attempt. (Karisa Watkins/PRCC Athletics)
POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team made a great effort Friday evening against a talented Lurleen B. Wallace but dropped the match 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 19-25).
“I saw some good changes today and some improvements in crucial areas,” head coach Haley Chatham said. “We lost to a good team, but what sets this loss apart is we let that good team make us better. If you do it right, you either win or learn. For the second time this season, I saw us learn instead of lose today. That’s progress that makes me very hopeful.
“We certainly could have done a better job taking the small things. We threw away a good amount of opportunity balls that were given to us. It’s hard to win against a good team when you slip on the easy plays. Discipline pays. We’ve talked about it all season and experienced the consequences of poor discipline today.”
Pearl River (4-11 overall) looked to be in control in the opening set against Lurleen B. Wallace (10-2), battling its way to an 8-5 advantage when a Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) block hit off a Saints player and found the court. LBW fought back quickly, squaring things up at 9-9 and eventually taking a 12-10 lead.
PRCC squared things up at 15 apiece a few points later as Olivia Shirley (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) sent a kill flying down to the ground in front of a host of Saints defenders. Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) followed it up with an ace to put PRCC ahead and force a Lurleen B. Wallace timeout, 16-15.
The Wildcats continued to apply the pressure following the stoppage by building out a three-point, 19-16 lead with the help of a forceful Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) kill and another Rann ace.
Lurleen B. Wallace fought back to square up the game two more times at 20-20 and 22-22 before putting the set away, 25-22.
Although LBW was in control throughout the second set, Pearl River kept things close the entire time. PRCC got within one point at 8-7 thanks to the swing of Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension). The outside hitter smashed a kill attempt that hit off a Saints player and shot into the nearby bench.
Lurleen B. Wallace went on to grab its largest lead of the set at 18-12 later on, but the Wildcats kept chipping away, using a pair of Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) kills to move within five points, 20-15.
Trailing 24-20, PRCC rattled off three straight points to put the Saints on their heels, but LBW closed the set out 25-23.
The beginning of the third set was as back-and-forth as they come, featuring six ties before the Saints built out an 11-7 advantage. PRCC fought back to make it a two-point deficit at 15-12 and cut it to one point after Wheat and Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) kills, 15-14.
PRCC kept fighting, but LBW closed the set out at 25-19.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats go on the road Wednesday to take on Gadsden State. First serve against the Cardinals is at 6 p.m.
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