By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – After a knock-down, drag-out five-set victory over a tough Lexington team in the 3A volleyball Elite Eight, Indian Springs could not muster the same result against one of the states top 3A teams in Madison Academy, losing in four sets, 25-20, 15-25, 25-21, 25-14. The Lady Mustangs were the top seed out of the North Super Regional, and while their record of 34-21 was not as prodigious as Springs’ 32-3 record coming into the match, they have been regarded as one of the top teams in the state all season.

After dropping the first set by just five points, Springs seemed to wake up in the second, and rolled to a relatively easy set win, 25-15.

“I thought we came out a little flat, and then we turned it up,” Indian Springs head coach Tiffany Hunter said after the match. “We realized that we could compete with the girls from Madison Academy and I feel like the girls really played their hearts out.”

In the third set, Springs hopped out to a big lead before things began to fall apart at the seams. Up 15-5 and 17-7, Springs seemed to be in control of the third set and the match as well. From the point where Springs was up 17-7, however, the tide changed dramatically. Madison Academy won 12 of the next 14 points to tie the match at 19-19, before taking the third set 21-15. The Lady Mustangs scored 14 of the final 18 points to take the set, and from there had too much momentum, taking the fourth set with little trouble, 25-14.

Springs amassed a 32-4 record under Hunter in her first year on the way to a 3A Final Four appearance. This team will lose four seniors in Margot Balliet, Stella Davis, Julianne Baker and Chloe Yeager, all of whom contributed large minutes.