Pearl River shows grit against Jones College

Claire Smith (Coldwater; Lewisburg) sets a ball for an attack attempt against Jones College (Karisa Watkins).

POPLARVILLE, Miss. (THN News) — The Pearl River volleyball team showed grit Wednesday afternoon, rallying from a 2-0 deficit before ultimately falling to rival Jones College 3-1.

"We had a less than stellar walk-through this morning and I think we created a slow start with that," head coach Haley Chatham said. "Preparation matters. We typically prepare well and carry it over. I hope we realize when we show up unprepared, that carries over too.

"Credit to Jones for keeping their foot on the gas when trouble came their way. We are going to do a better job preparing, and we are going to look for ways to make the game plan happen instead of coming up with reasons we can't next time we see them."

Pearl River (6-4 overall, 2-1 MACCC) fought back early in set one, pulling even at 7-7 behind a kill from Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension). The Bobcats (3-0, 2-0) answered with a dominant run to claim the opener 25-13.

Set two followed a similar script, though the Wildcats highlighted the frame with a full-extension dig from Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) that set up one of many kills from Lila Willett (Chelsea, Ala.). Jones again seized momentum and pulled away for a 25-15 win.

The Wildcats bounced back in the third. After falling behind 11-7, PRCC surged ahead 14-12, sparked by a Wheat kill that deflected off a block and dropped in. Willett then took over down the stretch, tallying three kills in the final five points to secure a 25-22 victory.

Pearl River grabbed a 9-7 edge in the fourth thanks in part to a block at the net by Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) and Claire Smith (Coldwater; Lewisburg). Jones quickly regained control, but the Wildcats clawed back to tie things 17-17 on a Bobcat attack error. PRCC took one last lead at 20-18 before Jones closed the door, 25-21, to win the match.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats head to Enterprise, Ala., on Friday for the Lurleen B. Wallace tournament, where they will face Santa Fe and Lawson State.