Pioneers Outlast Scots in Five-Set Thriller

Pioneers Outlast Scots in Five-Set Thriller-Wil Teague, Sports Inforamtion Director, 10/7/25

The Pioneers hung on to break their two-game losing streak by outlasting the Scots of Lyon College with a huge five-set win in the Carter Activities Center. The Pioneers improve to 8-14 overall on the year. 

Paragould, Ark.- Crowley's Ridge stretched things to the max against the Scots in tonight's matchup, with the contest going to the distance of five sets after the Pioneers came out blazing and claimed the opening two sets. In set one, the Pioneers easily handled the visiting team with a set score of 25-18 before claiming set two with a three-point difference of 25-22. CRC kept the full throttle game play entering the third with Jillian Glasgow opening the frame with a 5-0 run from behind the service line, but a resilient Scot team would rally late in the frame and erase all Pioneer gap accumulated early on. Lyon College would then find a way to avoid the sweep, tying the set and eventually winning it, 26-24, in extra frames. In set four, a little deja vu would take place with the Pioneers finding themselves in almost the same situation. This time, Sophomore Alyssa Dirden would lead the Pioneers on a 6-0 run from behind the service line, to reclaim lost ground, only to have a stubborn Scot team claw their way back into the set in the late stages once more. For the second set in a row, Lyon would force extra frames and find a way to stay alive, this set with a 29-27 win over CRC; but finally, in the fifth set, the Pioneers put things away, being the first team to 8, and after the final bench switch, hung on to defeat the Scots 15-13 with a final kill from Kyrsten Bake. 

The Pioneers were led by Brooklyn Cross, with her season-high of 15 kills. Game ending kill producer, Kyrsten Bake, followed with her season-high 14 kills. Jillian Glasgow paced the setters with 26 assists for the night, followed by Walnut Ridge, AR native, Maddie Burris with 19 assists. Defensively, Mallory Hollis led the team with 17 digs, followed by Alyssa Dirden with 15 digs. As a team, the Pioneers mustered 14 total blocks in the win, with Cross leading the team with 6 total blocks and Amiyah Saxton adding 5 total blocks (3 solo).  

Up Next: The Pioneers will host AMC opponent Mission University on Saturday, October 11th at 11:00 AM. #GOPOIONEERS