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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HARTSELLE – The No. 8 Pelham Panthers improved their record at the Hartselle quad-match with wins against Hartselle and Hazel Green, and they lost in a tough test against the No. 1-ranked Mountain Brook Spartans.

Pelham kicked off its day with a match against the host Hartselle Tigers. The Panthers won the first set in a close contest, 25-22, but the match only got tighter from there.

Both of the final two sets went to extra points as Pelham had a chance to show its resilience under pressure. The Panthers lost to the Tigers after one round of extra points in the second set, 26-24, but the third set required three rounds to determine a match winner.

Pelham played well with the match on the line as the Panthers took a 19-17 third set win to walk away with a 2-1 win.

Londyn Wynn led the Panthers with 11 kills, nine digs and three total blocks. Camryn McMinn earned eight kills, nine digs and three aces. Kylee Hester earned 23 assists and nine digs from the setter spot, and Caroline Hamby took nine digs.

Pelham faced Mountain Brook in its next match, but the Panthers fell to the Spartans in their quest to stay unbeaten on the day.

The top-ranked Spartans won the first set, 25-19, before they finished the job in the second set with a 25-18 win to earn a 2-0 sweep in the battle of top 10 teams.

McMinn earned nine kills and eight digs in the loss, while Hester had both 12 assists and 12 digs. Hamby earned nine digs, Wynn had eight digs and took five kills as well.

Pelham entered its final match of the day against Hazel Green looking for a bounce-back win to finish the day with a winning record. The Panthers were well on their way to that results after taking the opening set over the Trojans, 25-21.

Pelham still had to hold off Hazel Green in the second set, as the Trojans kept the set close at the end, but the Panthers won the set, 25-22, to take the match, 2-0.

McMinn led the team in kills for the second straight match with 10 as she earned a +.267 hitting percentage while also taking 12 digs. Wynn earned eight kills, Hamby took 11 digs and Jojo Miller had four total blocks. Hester had 17 assists, seven digs and four kills in a well-rounded performance.

Pelham will finish out area play against Helena on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and John Carroll on Thursday, Oct. 5. The Panthers are still in contention to host the area tournament on Oct. 18 as they sit at 4-0 in area play.