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.
"Credit to Meridian — they came prepared tonight and did a good job of exposing some weak spots," head coach Haley Chatham said. "I appreciate matches that come down to the wire like tonight. They give us something to draw on the next time we get in a tight situation and we will play with a little more confidence because we've been there before and saw it through.
"We had to work through some hard things tonight and I never saw quit in any of my girls. My favorite part about running this program is getting to see our girls do hard things they didn't know they could do. When they find success on the other side of it, that makes it that much sweeter."
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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).