PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Pearl River volleyball team showed that it could fight when things got tough Saturday afternoon. Despite falling in the opening match of the day against Garden City 3-0 (10-25, 13-25, 23-25), the Wildcats came from down two sets to defeat Gadsden State 3-2 (21-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-8).
“Chaos got the better of us all weekend,” head coach Haley Chatham said. “We decided to get as simple as possible. Focus on staying organized, committing to defense, and slowly building our offense from there. I’m happy they were able to stick with the plan and pull it out.”
GARDEN CITY 3, PEARL RIVER 0.
Garden City (5-3 overall) was on fire in the opening set of the day against the Wildcats (2-4). The early portion was tight as the teams exchanged scores, but GCCC dismantled PRCC to win the set 25-10.
The second set was more of the same for the Broncbusters as they cruised to a 25-13 victory.
Pearl River trailed in the third set before fighting back to even things up at 13 apiece. The teams found themselves tied three more times before the set ended, but Garden City eventually won it 25-23.
PEARL RIVER 3, GADSDEN STATE 2.
The first set was as tightly contested as any on the day as Pearl River and Gadsden State (2-5) exchanged points to an 11-11 tie.
The Cardinals took the lead immediately after and carried to victory in the set, 25-21.
The Wildcats got off to a hot start in set two, using a Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) kill to gain momentum and take an 8-5 advantage early. GSCC didn’t let the deficit bother it, fighting to take a 13-12 lead.
The momentum swing was enough for the Cardinals to move in front 18-12 and cruise to a 25-14 victory.
On the heels of defeat, Pearl River pulled it together in set three. Although the Wildcats found themselves down by five points at 15-10 late in the set, PRCC stormed back to snatch a 17-16 lead. Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) took over down the stretch, picking up two big kills to help PRCC earn a 25-19 victory.
The Wildcats continued to fend off defeat in their fourth set of the night, getting hot in the middle part of the set and taking the momentum to a 25-20 win.
In the decisive set five, Pearl River found itself behind early but didn’t let the deficit become a problem, battling to take the lead. Madi King (Leakesville; Greene County) capped off the come-from-behind victory with a big kill, 15-8.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to action Tuesday as Bishop State makes the trip to Poplarville. The match will get underway at 5 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).
