By Dylan Dunaway

PRCC Sports Information

MOBILE, Ala. — The Pearl River volleyball team had a fantastic showing on day two of the Bishop State Wildcat Classic on Saturday, sweeping both of their matches. The Wildcats defeated MACCC rival Northwest 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-14) and Bishop State 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-18).

PEARL RIVER 3, NORTHWEST 0

Pearl River (5-1 overall) immediately gained all the momentum as soon as the match began, taking eight of the first 10 points to lead 8-2.

Northwest (0-4) claimed two quick points, but a tip and an ace by Leighton Willoughby (Brandon; Northwest Rankin) and a tip by Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave) quickly got them back for the Wildcats, making the score 11-4.

Later in the set, the Rangers rallied back to cut the deficit to just three points at 16-13, but four points in rapid succession put the Wildcats in front, 20-13. The highlight of the run was when Overstreet caught the Northwest players off guard with a no-look tip which fell between three defenders.

NWCC once again sliced into the lead to trail by only four points, but Avery Beth Durdin (Olive Branch; Lewisburg) put the set to rest with two aces and a kill to claim set one for PRCC by a score of 25-18.

No one could gain the upper hand early in set two as eight lead changes took place.

Northwest grabbed its first lead of the set when they went ahead 5-3, but the Wildcats rallied to take three points to give themselves the 6-5 lead.

NWCC took two straight to go on top 7-6, but a Durdin tip tied up the contest.

The Rangers took a 10-9 lead before the Wildcats battled back to tie the set at 11 all on a Leah Draine (Mobile, Ala.; Mattie T. Blount) kill.

PRCC extended the lead to 14-11 after a Diamond Jones (Gonzalez, La.; East Ascension) kill, a Willoughby ace and a Northwest service error.

NWCC fought back to tie the set one last time at 15-15 before the Wildcats pulled away, eventually claiming the set 25-19.

The third set started off with alternating points until the Wildcats stretched their lead out to 7-3 and were in control for the rest of the match.

Not long after, Pearl River went on a 9-1 run to take an 18-8 lead over Northwest.

NWCC tried to flip the momentum with back-to-back points, but it did not work as Pearl River quickly closed out the set with a final score of 25-14, sweeping Northwest for the second time this season in the process.

PEARL RIVER 3, BISHOP STATE 0

Well into the late stages of set one, back-and-forth proved to be the theme.

BSCC went up 3-1 over PRCC but after a Jones kill and an Allison Carpenter (Ocean Springs) ace, Pearl River tied it up, 3-3.

PRCC earned its first lead of the set after it rattled off four consecutive points to go ahead 10-7.

Bishop State returned the favor by scoring six points in succession to go out in front 13-10.

PRCC cut the deficit to just one at 14-13 moments later after back-to-back kills from Hannah Burks (Ocean Springs; Vancleave) and Jones.

The teams battled to a 17-17 tie before Pearl River claimed six points to go ahead 23-17. The highlight of the run was when Sydney Salter (Vancleave) dove for a dig which set up a Draine kill.

PRCC claimed the first set by a final score of 25-19.

Set two had a different feel to it as Pearl River was in control for the majority of the contest, jumping out to a 9-1 lead as soon as the set began.

Bishop State cut the lead in half at 10-5, but three consecutive points off of two Durdin kills and a BSCC violation gave Pearl River a 13-5 lead.

Pearl River eventually doubled the Bishop State lead again at 16-8 thanks to a Chloe Paske (St. Martin) kill that was set up by two digs by Overstreet and Salter.

With Emma Bahr (Ocean Springs) serving, Pearl River put six straight points on the board to take a big 22-10 lead.

BSCC took three points back, but the Wildcats responded with three of their own which featured a kill by Jasmine Burdine (Biloxi) and wrapped up set two with a 25-13 final score.

In what proved to be the final set of the day, the third set was evenly matched in the early stages with Pearl River leading by two points at 8-6.

PRCC then went on a 6-1 run that was capped off by a Jones kill and a dig by Annah Marshall (Lake Cormorant) that led to an Overstreet tip, making the score 14-7.

Pearl River kept its foot on the gas for the rest of the set eventually claiming it by a final score of 25-18.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats will return to action on Thursday for their home opener against Lawson State. The match will begin at 5 p.m. and will be livestreamed on PRCCMedia.com/maroon.