Alison Young a senior outside hitter for the Pelham High School volleyball team said playing for a state title would mean going out with &8220;glory and honor&8221; and &8220;knowing it&8217;s the first time we&8217;ve won sine 1997.&8221;

Pelham will play Robertsdale this morning at 8 a.m. in the first round of the state tournament at the Pelham Civic Center.

Making it this far means Pelham has reached the Elite 8 in Class 6A.

Liz Lee, a senior setter for the team said it would &8220;make her life whole.&8221;

Coached by Tammy Richardson, starters include Lee, Young, Whitney Hudson, Whitney Billings, Shea McBee, Jazmine Clark, Noel Corbin, Kristin McKay and Ashley Cole.

Richardson said she didn&8217;t know if she could put what winning a state title would mean into words because her team has &8220;grown as people&8221; and &8220;They&8217;ve truly made a commitment.&8221;

With a record of 50-10, Richardson said, &8220;One of our quotes is, &8216;Let your life be a direct reflection of what matters to you most.&8217; And that&8217;s what they&8217;ve been doing.&8221;

After playing in a tournament in Tampa, Richardson said her team made &8220;incredible leaps to go to the next level.&8221;

The last time Pelham won a state volleyball championship was in 1997.

This time, with one of the hottest high school volleyball players in sophomore Whitney Billings, Pelham enters the tournament having made huge strides in the last month.

And Billings, she said, has already grown three skill levels