BREWTON, Ala. — The Pearl River volleyball team put up an incredible fight all day long on Saturday. The Wildcats opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Bevill State (25-17, 21-25, 25-13, 25-20) before dropping a hard-fought match to Coastal Alabama – North, 3-1 (18-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20).
“I like the way the girls handled themselves this weekend,” head coach Haley Chatham said. “We served and passed well, our defense showed improvement and we are becoming more terminal on offense because our first contacts are getting better. I’m seeing us start to catch up, speed-wise, too.
“Our setters are stepping up by making the tough balls better and getting great location on the good ones. Our outsides scored a lot of points on the weekend.”
PEARL RIVER 3, BEVILL STATE 1.
Pearl River (6-15 overall) had to fight in the opening set of the day against Bevill State (4-21). The teams traded points all the way to a 15-15 tie through the first 30 points of the set. That’s when the Wildcats finally started to pull away. Following an error by the Bears, Sophie Warren (Brandon) dropped in an ace to extend the lead to 17-15. BSCC got a point back, and PRCC promptly responded with three more to force a timeout ahead of 20-16.
Bevill State picked up a quick point out of the timeout and looked to gain some momentum. Pearl River didn’t let it happen, though, rattling off five points to end the set, 25-17. The run was highlighted by a perfect set from Madison Butler (Biloxi; D’Iberville) and a kill off a block attempt by Avery Wheat (Gonzalez, La.; East Ascension).
As if the opening set wasn’t enough of a fight, set two was even more closely contested. Fifteen ties took place between the Bears and Wildcats before the Bears grabbed some momentum late and won the set 25-21.
Set three was utter domination by PRCC. Despite falling behind early, the Wildcats quickly built out an 11-7 lead. It soon swelled to a 10-point advantage at 17-7.
Pearl River moved ahead 23-13 and closed things out with a Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) kill and an Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) ace, 25-13.
The teams couldn’t separate themselves from each other early in the fourth set, tying nine times before the Wildcats took a lead that they didn’t relinquish. On match point, Mears smashed a booming kill down onto the court to end the set and match, 25-20.
COASTAL ALABAMA – NORTH 3, PEARL RIVER 1.
The Wildcats knew they were in for a fight with a talented Coastal Alabama – North (13-2) squad. In the opening set, the Coyotes took a quick 5-2 lead before PRCC stormed back to even it up at five apiece on a Wheat kill and Mears ace.
The teams were tied up at 12-12 before CAN took control of the set and went on to win 25-18.
The drama was present throughout set two. The Wildcats fell behind early but stormed back to tie the set up at 7-7 following a Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) block. PRCC moved in front a while later when Campbell Bailey (Elberta, Ala.; St. Michael’s) smacked a big-time kill, 14-13.
Trailing 20-18 a while later, PRCC fought back to even it up at 20-20 on a King kill. The advantage shifted into PRCC’s favor one play later as Jordyn Wilks (Independence, La.; Hammond Magnet) registered a service ace, 22-21.
The Coyotes didn’t let the game get away from them and picked up a 25-22 victory.
One set away from falling, Pearl River had to fight in the third set. Tied at 5-5 early, PRCC started to pull away a bit. The Wildcats saw their lead grow to six points at 12-6 when Wheat and King combined for a block. Soon after, PRCC was up 15-7 with the help of a Wheat kill.
PRCC went up by as much as nine points in the set, 17-8, but Coastal Alabama – North didn’t go away as it fought back to tie things up at 21-21. The teams tied two more times in the hard-fought set at 24-24 and 25-25. An incredible defensive play helped PRCC turn the tide late. Warren dove to keep a ball from hitting the court and kept a rally going. Butler then caught the Coyotes off-guard by turning a fake set into a point, 26-25. Immediately after, Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) ended the set with a kill, 27-25.
Pearl River found itself in a bad position in the fourth set as CAN built a big advantage, 20-11, rapidly. PRCC didn’t lay down with the big deficit, rattling off a 7-1 run to make the score 21-17. A Wilks ace and a Williford kill highlighted the run.
“Jordyn Wilks came in and lit the match up with her serves, passes and digs,” Chatham said.
A response was made by the Coyotes afterward as they closed out the set 25-20.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to Shivers Gymnasium Monday evening. Jones College comes to Poplarville for the first-ever volleyball ‘Cat Fight.’ The first serve is at 6 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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
