MERIDIAN, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team had to battle every step of the way Wednesday night at Meridian, but the Wildcats found a way to pull out a hard-fought 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-22, 31-29) victory over the homestanding Eagles.
Pearl River (14-7 overall; 8-2 MACCC) dug itself an early hole against Meridian (4-16; 0-10), forcing the Wildcats into comeback mode. After trailing 10-9, the Eagles matched PRCC point-for-point until a late push helped them secure the opening frame, 25-21.
The Wildcats needed an answer in the second set — and they delivered. After falling behind early, PRCC clawed its way back to even things at 10-all. From there, the Wildcats caught fire. An Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) kill, followed by an ace from the sophomore, gave PRCC a 12-10 advantage. A 5-2 spurt, highlighted by aces from Jordyn Wilks (Hammond, La.; Hammond Magnet) and Skyla Rann (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension), pushed the margin to 17-12. Pearl River continued to build momentum, stretching the lead to 21-14 on a Kinsley Jean Stegall (Saucier; Our Lady Academy) ace before closing the set 25-15 thanks to a Reagan Ziegler (Lacombe, La.; Lakeshore) kill and back-to-back aces from Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central).
The third set followed a similar script. PRCC looked firmly in control after a pinpoint Wheat kill extended the lead to 10-4, and the Wildcats later built their largest cushion at 19-11. Meridian, however, refused to go away quietly. The Eagles chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to just two points at 22-20. A heads-up play from Claire Smith (Coldwater; Lewisburg), faking a set and instead tipping the ball over for a kill, put PRCC on the brink, 24-21. The Wildcats then closed out the set 25-22.
What looked like it might be a runaway in the fourth turned into an instant classic. After opening with six unanswered points, PRCC found itself locked in a marathon with Meridian. The teams traded blows the rest of the way, combining for 60 points and 14 ties. The final deadlock came at 29-29 before Wheat stepped up one more time, sealing the match with a kill and an ace for a 31-29 victory.
NEXT UP
Pearl River heads to the Alabama Gulf Coast Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala., on Friday. The Wildcats face Lurleen B. Wallace at 9 a.m. and Snead State at 1 p.m.
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