BOONEVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team rebounded from its loss in a big way Wednesday afternoon, going on the road and thumping Northeast, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-13).
“We passed and served well, we made good offensive decisions and we pursued every single ball,” head coach Haley Chatham said. “We played like we deserved to win, so we did.”
Pearl River (7-16 overall; 2-2 MACCC) was firmly in control in the first set of the day against Northeast (3-12; 1-3). The teams were playing tightly in the early portion of the set and started to pull away when the Wildcats went up 8-5 courtesy of an Olivia Shirley (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) kill. The momentum gained allowed PRCC to stretch out a seven-point, 17-10 advantage. The Tigers got a point back, but back-to-back attack errors put PRCC ahead 19-11.
Pearl River continued to run away with the set, eventually capped off by a tap over the net from Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County), 25-15.
Set two was the closest between the teams on the day as Northeast took its first lead of the set and fought to maintain it until PRCC tied things up at 11 apiece. That’s when the Wildcats gained control. Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) made the score 15-13 PRCC, and a bit later, Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) earned an ace when her left-handed serve couldn’t be handled, 17-14.
Despite Northeast’s best efforts to get back into the match, Pearl River went on to take care of business, 25-20.
In what proved to be the last set of the day, the Tigers and Wildcats looked to be in another battle in the early going. Fifteen points into the set, things started to change, with PRCC ahead 8-7. The Wildcats embarked on an incredible 12-point run to snatch a 20-7 lead. PRCC did its damage with Sophie Warren (Brandon) doing the serving. Mears was responsible for a few points with big kills during the run as PRCC moved ahead 15-7. A long rally began that was wrapped up when Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) ripped a kill off a block attempt and out of bounds. Warren picked up an ace before NEMCC finally broke the Wildcat streak.
“We had 12 straight points behind the aggressive serving of Sophie Warren,” Chatham said. “She provided super offensive serves that either scored points or made it difficult for them to turn into points.”
The Tigers attempted to make a run of their own late, but Avery Wheat (Gonzalez, La.; East Ascension) thumped a kill for the match’s final point, 25-13.
King was a force for the Wildcats throughout the match, often picking up the big points.
“Madi always does what she is coached to do,” Chatham said. “She is so steady and works so hard to make the right move. She stepped up defensively and got over and across every block, which put pressure on their hitters and made it tough for them to score. We can always count on Madi to give her very best.”
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to the court Monday for a 5 p.m. match against Itawamba inside Shivers Gymnasium.
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).
