Box Score POPLARVILLE - Despite capturing the opening set in front of a hostile crowd at Pearl River, Northwest was unable to sustain the momentum through the remainder of the match, as the Lady Wildcats finished with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday evening.
Northwest took a 13-10 advantage in the opening set and cruised to a 25-18 decision, taking a 1-0 match lead. However, Pearl River came out swinging in the next set, leading 10-5 and later pushing the score to 18-13. The Lady Wildcats wound up taking the set, 25-17, tying the match at 1-1.
Pearl River continued its hot streak in the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 advantage before widening the gap to 13-5. Northwest did muster a rally, pulling back within a 21-19 margin, but the Lady Wildcats finished things out down the stretch, gaining a 2-1 match lead with a 25-20 third set victory.
Though Northwest had the early advantage in the fourth set, Pearl River stormed back to force a 15-14 lead. From there, the Lady Wildcats took 10 of the final 12 points, sealing the 3-1 final.
Reigning MACCC Offensive Player of the Week
Maddie Smith led Northwest with 13 kills, while
Rachel Stegall followed with seven kills and 17 digs.
Layla Dyer led the Lady Rangers in both assists (30) and digs (20), and
Abbey Swift collected 13 digs.
Claire Roberts also posted two blocks in the losing effort for Northwest, while Stegall and
Anna Lott finished with one block apiece.
With the loss, the Lady Rangers' 16-match winning streak comes to a close, dropping the team's overall record to 20-7 with a 5-1 mark in conference play. Pearl River improved to 8-17 overall and 3-3 in the MACCC.
Northwest will step away from conference competition on Saturday, October 12, taking on Coastal Alabama-South for a single 1 P.M. match. From there, the Lady Rangers will visit Jones College on Monday, Oct. 14 at 6 P.M.
