PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Pearl River volleyball team split the second day of the Pensacola State tournament Friday, falling to Chattanooga State 3-1 (26-28, 25-14, 12-25, 20-25) and sweeping Southern Union 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23).

CHATTANOOGA STATE 3, PEARL RIVER 1.

The first set of the day proved to be one of the most competitive between Pearl River (8-8 overall) and Chattanooga State (10-1).

The Tigers jumped out to a 6-2 advantage before the run was ended by a CSC ball into the net.

Sammie Smith (D’Iberville) made the score 10-6 soon after with an ace that was tucked just before the back line.

The Wildcats embarked on a huge rally soon after, battling back to take their first lead at 14-13 on a Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave) kill. Smith followed it up with a kill tucked into the back right corner of the court to extend it to 15-13.

Despite PRCC being in control for most of the set, Chattanooga State battled back and tied things up late in the set at 24-24.

The Tigers went on to win the tightly contested set 28-26.

PRCC wasn’t bothered by the set one loss and looked dominant throughout set two. The Wildcats jumped out to a big 5-0 lead.

After the Tigers battled back into the match, the Wildcats used a run of three straight points to push out their lead to 12-5. Pearl River took a 13-6 lead two plays later after a Natalie Bartholomew (Brandon) kill attempt went through the CSC block.

PRCC stretched its lead out to an incredible 22-9 mark soon after with the help of back-to-back kills from Bartholomew and Smith.

Delaney Sisson (Auburn, Ala.) capped off the fantastic set with an ace to win it 25-14.

The Wildcats were never able to find their footing in the third set as the Tigers jumped out to a big lead right from the start before rushing past PRCC 25-12.

Set four saw Pearl River go down big early but battle all the way back to tie up the match 8-8. The teams battled to two more ties in the set with the last one coming at 15-15.

Chattanooga State was able to pull away, however, winning the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.

PEARL RIVER 3, SOUTHERN UNION 0.

The two teams battle throughout set one with the Wildcats able to claim a late advantage and use it to propel themselves to a 25-18 set one victory.

The Bisons took control in the early part of set two, holding on to a 12-9 lead.

Pearl River was not deterred and battled back to reclaim the lead 15-14 through the serving of Carpenter and Bartholomew.

From there, the teams exchanged scores with the Bisons reclaiming the lead 18-15.

Smith and Bartholomew led the charge for Pearl River as they reclaimed the lead 23-21 to force a SUCC timeout.

The Wildcats did not let the timeout stop momentum grabbing back-to-back points to win set two 25-21.

Pearl River opened set three on a 3-0 run that included a Smith kill and Overstreet ace. The Wildcats capitalized on the early momentum by extending the lead 8-4 through the serving of Sisson.

The Bisons were not fazed and battled to retake the lead 12-10 shortly after.

The teams again exchanged blows throughout the middle part of the set with neither team able to claim momentum.

With the score tied 16-16, The Wildcats were able to find a spark through a booming kill from Bartholomew and rode the momentum to victory 25-23.

UP NEXT

Pearl River returns to the court tomorrow at 12 p.m. for the final day of the Pensacola State College tournament. The Wildcats will match up with Roane State and the match can be viewed at PirateNetwork.live.

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