DECATUR, Miss — Despite battling through multiple tightly contested sets, Pearl River came up short on the road Tuesday night, falling in straight sets to MACCC opponent East Central, 3-0 (25-12, 24-24, 28-26).
“Tonight was just one of those nights,” head coach Haley Chatham said. “We lost our composure. If we didn’t hit in the negatives, we were close.”
After the loss, Pearl River (19-8 overall; 9-3 MACCC) looks to regroup quickly with three tough matches Friday at the Snead State Invitational against Gadsden State at noon, Northwest Shoals at 4 p.m. and host Snead State at 6 p.m.
“We started flat and waited too long to choose discipline,” Chatham added. “The bounce back will come if we get in the gym and choose to prepare like winners. They can and they will.”
Pearl River opened the first set in a tightly contested battle with East Central (10-8; 7-4), trading points early with ties at 1-1, 2-2, 4-4 and 5-5. Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) got going early, delivering a kill off a set from Claire Smith (Coldwater; Lewisburg) to give Pearl River a 2-1 lead.
The Smith-to-Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) connection sparked midway through the first set, as the duo combined for two key points to pull the Wildcats withing two, trailing 10-8. Despite a strong effort, Pearl River ultimately dropped the opening set, 25-12.
Set two was a thriller, featuring 12 ties throughout. Pearl River got on the board early with back-to-back kills by Wheat off sets from Smith. The Wildcats fell behind 18-14 but responded with a 6-2 run to even the score at 20-20, capped by a momentous block from Mears.
With the score knotted at 20-20, East Central surged ahead to take a 23-21 lead. Pearl River battled back to tie the set at 23-23 and again at 24-24, but despite a late rally, the Wildcats came up just short, falling 26-24 in set two.
Set three opened with a narrow 5-4 lead for Pearl River, highlighted by a kill from Lila Willett (Chelsea, Ala.) off a set from Smith. The set remained tightly contested, featuring three ties and four lead changes. Mallory Hesterman (Brooklyn; HomeLIfe Academy) eventually broke through with a powerful kill to give the Wildcats a 14-12 advantage.
Pearl River maintained control late in the set as Smith delivered a backset to Mears, who drilled a cross-court kill past the Warrior defenders to give the Wildcats an 18-16 lead.
The set remained intense down the stretch, with ties at 22-22, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26. Despite the back-and-forth battle, Pearl River ultimately fell to East Central in set three, dropping the match in straight sets.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
