Pine Grove had the lead, then two chances to finish. Wheeler took both away.
The Panthers dropped the final two sets by two points apiece Tuesday, falling 3-2 on the road in a match that handed them their first district loss. Across Tippah County’s varsity volleyball schedule, Walnut protected its perfect home record with a four-set win over Hatley, while Ripley was swept at Oxford.
Pine Grove opened with a commanding 25-11 set, lost the second 25-20 and regained control with a 25-19 victory in the third. One more set would have secured the match. Instead, Wheeler edged the Panthers 25-23 to force a fifth, then won the deciding set 17-15.
The finish left Pine Grove at 12-9 overall and 4-1 in district play. Its two set victories came by a combined 20 points; the last two defeats came by a combined four. Wheeler improved to 12-5.
There is little time to dwell on the missed opportunity. Pine Grove hosts county rival Falkner at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, a week after sweeping the Eagles on the road.
Walnut, meanwhile, continued to make its home floor a difficult place for visitors. The Wildcats beat Hatley 3-1 to move to 16-2 overall, 2-0 in district play and 7-0 at home. It was their second straight victory, following a sweep at Hamilton.
That same Hamilton team visits Walnut on Thursday for a 6 p.m. district rematch, giving the Wildcats another opportunity to extend their unbeaten home run.
At Oxford, Ripley could not build on consecutive wins over Booneville and Hickory Flat. The Chargers won 25-14, 25-10, 25-14, taking all three sets by double-digit margins and improving to 18-7.
Ripley slipped to 9-10, but the non-district loss left its 3-0 district record intact. The Tigers return to league play Thursday at Clarksdale, with varsity scheduled for 6 p.m. All listed start times are Central.
