POPLARVILLE, Miss — The Pearl River volleyball team rallied behind an outstanding performance from Claire Smith (Coldwater; Lewisburg) on Monday night, sweeping Meridian 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-9).
"Her (Claire Smith) serving, her defense is getting better, and then of course she's just got great location," head coach Haley Chatham said. "She gets to ball quick. I think she's a big reason why we won that match."
Pearl River (12-6 overall; 6-1 MACCC) battled through adversity in a tightly contested opening set against Meridian (2-13; 0-7), which featured nine ties and ten lead changes.
Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) opened the set with a kill to give the Wildcats an early lead. After four lead changes, Mears struck again with a sharp kill off the hands of a Meridian defender, then added another to put Pearl River ahead 10-8.
Down the stretch Smith turned into a highlight reel, delivering clutch assists and two service aces before the final point was won by an errant serve by Meridian.
The beginning of set two was all Meridian as the Eagles got out to a 4-0 lead before a service error gave Pearl River their first point of the set. Pearl River tied the set at five on a miraculous kill by Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) off a high-arching set from Smith.
Holding a late 17-14 lead, the Wildcats caught fire, closing the set on a dominant 8-1 run. The surge featured three pinpoint sets from Smith that Wheat hammered home for kills, along with two service aces from Smith to seal the 25-15 win.
The third set was all Pearl River, as the Wildcats jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. Reagan Ziegler (Lacombe, La; Lakeshore) shined early, contributing three key points, including a strong block that extended the lead to 6-2.
Smith continued to shine in the third set, adding three more late assists and capping her performance with her fifth ace on the day to give the Wildcats their 24th point. Wheat then sealed the deal with a thunderous kill, securing the 25-9 win for Pearl River.
NEXT UP
Pearl River travels to Senatobia Wednesday to take on Northwest at 5 p.m. The match will be livestreamed at NWCCRangers.com/watch.
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