Box Score POPLARVILLE — In what could be a great example of the level of competitiveness that the Bear Volleyball team will face this season in the MACCC, Southwest went toe-to-toe with host Pearl River Wednesday night in the conference-opener.
 
And despite battling hard throughout the match and taking the Wildcats to the limit in two sets, the Bears unfortunately could not close the deal, falling 23-25, 25-27, 14-25.
 
"We are right there, and I felt like we trailed them most of the time. We had opportunities and we just about came away with it," said Southwest head coach Chris Laird. "Overall, I'm proud because you come in here and people are loud and the crowd did a good job of trying to distract us and we hope to have that at our place."
 
The Bears (0-5) got off to a bit of a slow start finding themselves down 11-4 in the first set before mounting a comeback.
 
Southwest scored nine of the next 11 points in the set to draw even at 13. The run included big plays including a key block from Abby Greenlee and a kill from Gracie Amacker.
 
Even though the Wildcats re-gained momentum, they watched as the Bears followed suit not only clawing their way back into the contest once again, but this time taking a lead.
 
Down 17-14 Southwest went on a 5-1 run consisting partly of a block from Tierra Martin and an ace from Reagan Robinson to jump ahead 19-17.
 
But down the stretch in the opening set, Pearl River stayed one step ahead despite strong play from Southwest.
 
The second set was much more competitive in the early stages with neither team leading by more than three.
 
A pair of kills from Haley Eckert helped the Bears keep pace with the latter of the two pulling Southwest within one at 12-11.
 
Not long afterward, two kills each from Eckert, Greenlee and Robinson were complemented by one each from Berta Soules and Ava Davis. Davis' kill put the visitors ahead 23-22 as they looked to take the second set and draw even.
 
But Pearl River rallied late to claim the set.
 
Early in the third set, Southwest tried to climb back into the contest but was unable to find the same magic it had earlier. The Wildcats raced out to a 14-4 advantage but the Bears didn't give up and showed great resilience.
 
A 3-0 run featuring back-to-back aces from Eckert helped fuel a comeback as Southwest narrowed the gap a bit. The 10-point deficit was eventually reduced to eight but the Bears ran out of steam in the end as the Wildcats claimed the match win.
 
The Bears will host their first home matches of the season Friday during the SMCC Bear Invitational. Southwest will face Gulf Coast at 1 p.m. and Jackson State CC at 5 p.m.