PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Pearl River volleyball team wrapped up the Pensacola State Tournament Saturday, splitting the day against No. 4 Kansas City and Gadsden State. PRCC dropped the opener to KCKCC 3-0 (10-25, 9-25, 20-25) before sweeping GSCC 3-0 (29-27, 25-16, 25-18)

"We go to this tournament every year because it gives us the chance to face high-quality opponents, including nationally ranked teams," head coach Haley Chatham said. "The competition exposes us to different and fast offenses, and those matches challenge us to adjust quickly, try new options, increase our speed and ultimately get better. It's a valuable part of our growth as a team. As long as we use this experience to get better, I'm happy with it — and we did."

After dropping the first two sets handily to Kansas City (8-0 overall), Pearl River (5-3) showed some fight in the third set, maintaining a lead throughout the early and middle portions of the set before eventually falling 25-20.

The Wildcats quickly shook off the result when their match against Gadsden State (3-3) started. The first set took some fight as the teams battled well past the 25-point mark with Pearl River winning the opening set 29-27.

Pearl River took a commanding lead in the second set, going up by nine points on an Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) kill and extending the lead to 10 points at 16-6 shortly after. The Wildcats closed out the set with a 25-16 win.

 In what proved to be the final set, Lila Willett (Chelsea, Ala.) and Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) had two of the biggest highlights, with Willett thumping a kill off a defender and Mears leaping high for a solo block. The Wildcats snatched the set 25-18 and secured the victory.

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