Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

After coming within just a set of another trip to the Elite Eight, the Pelham Panthers hope to reload and make another run at Class 6A’s elite.

With coach Perry Robinson looking to fill some key spots over the offseason, he’s been encouraged by their play during the summer even as he acknowledges they still have a way to go before they become a true cohesive team.

“I thought we had some good individual play by a few positions,” Robinson said. “Still would like to see us kind of gel some more, but we’ve had a couple that have had strong sets when they play and that’s encouraging that what we’re doing, we’re seeing it in the matches. So, we’re excited about that.”

The Panthers have five players back who started at various points in the season and lost four players from last year, including a pair of middle hitters in Kassadi Jones and Caley Peterson and libero Ashvi Davawala.

While they’ll need to fill those positions, Pelham’s experienced attack is back for another go. Senior setter Kylee Hester is entering her third season as a starter directing the offense, and she’ll have a pair of South All-Stars to send the ball to on the outside in Camryn McMinn and Londyn Wynn.

Both outsides made the All-State team last year, with McMinn earning one of the top kill counts in Class 6A with 372 along with 282 digs for a First Team spot and Wynn secured Second Team honors with 305 kills and 260 digs on the year.

They lead a large senior class for the Panthers that will both shepherd along rising stars like junior outside Aubrie Smith, who Robinson tabbed as a potential breakout, and lead the way for the team.

“It begins and ends with Londyn Wynn and Camryn McMinn,” Robinson said. “They’re going to be on the court a lot. We know they’re talented. It’s just a matter of, can we gel as a team on the court?”

Having a pair of All-State players on the pins takes the guesswork out of planning the offense, but Robinson hopes they can use them as the foundation to build the rest of the team around them.

“We know who we’re going to set to now,” Robinson said. “We’re not having to worry about that. The fact that we have so much returners on the court, we need to lean into that and then keep building with that.”

One of the ways Robinson looks to build off Pelham’s experience is to speed up the offense while also committing less errors. Part of that will come from better first contact skills, whether that’s on the serve, defense or serve receive, but their aim is still to be a balanced side while speeding up rallies.

It’s a goal of many teams every volleyball season, but not every team has the veteran players that the Panthers have to make it happen. That’s one of the reasons why even with the focus on improvement and quick play, Robinson still believes this year’s team will look familiar to longtime fans on the court.

In addition, Robinson is focusing on the mental side of the game to keep his team sharp and prepared going into all of the tests they will face this fall.

“We just want to be cleaner with the ball,” Robinson said. “If we could shorten the rallies by being more efficient, we would love that, and just making sure we’re mentally prepped every time we step on the court. That’s one of our big offseason focuses.”

Some of those biggest tests will come before the postseason even begins. While Pelham did not move classifications or areas due to reclassification, they were greatly affected by the latest state-wide shakeup.

Pelham dominated area play with a 7-1 record last year, but with a pair of new additions, it’s now anyone’s game in Class 6A, Area 8.

With Briarwood and John Carroll heading back down to Class 5A, Chelsea and Spain Park both dropped down to Class 6A, meaning the Panthers will now share an area with a Class 7A Elite Eight team in the Jags and two programs on the rise in the Hornets and Helena Huskies.

Robinson did not hold back in his assessment of the area and believes it’s one of the most difficult paths to Montgomery of anyone.

“I would say our area is quite possibly the hardest in 6A, and it may be the hardest in the state,” Robinson said. “I think that we’re going to eliminate two of these teams at the area level is not good for the sport. I wish we had a little more traction on region play.”

With the level of volleyball in the Birmingham area constantly on the rise, Robinson knows that the Panthers will need to raise their game accordingly and bring their best every night of area play in order to repeat as area champions.

“I think this area, all four teams have their work cut out for them and you can have a really, really, really good team that does not come out,” Robinson said. “It’s going to be crazy.”

Even with a difficult road ahead of them, the Panthers still have the pieces in place to contend, and the task now is for them to continue to work in pursuit of their lofty goals.

“The goal is for this team to buy in, to come in every day and work to get better,” Robinson said. “If we can do that, everything else will take care of itself.”