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The Pelham Panthers won the Juanita Boddie Bronze Bracket championship after rebounding from back-to-back pool play losses with four straight wins in bracket play. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Pelham Panthers closed out the Juanita Boddie tournament on a high note as they won all four of their Bronze Bracket games to claim the title on Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Finley Center in Hoover.

After going 2-2 in pool play, Pelham defeated Lawrence County, Fort Payne, Jasper and Hewitt-Trussville to win the Bronze Bracket championship.

The Panthers started out strong with a pair of wins in Pool 16 on Friday, Aug. 23 against Mae Jemison and Gulf Shores.

Pelham’s victory over Mae Jemison was as dominant of a victory as any in the tournament as it stormed to a 25-2 first set win before claiming the sweep with a 25-8 win in the second set.

Later that evening, the Panthers faced adversity in the form of a 25-22 first set loss to Gulf Shores. However, Pelham stormed back to defeat the Dolphins 25-17 in the second set before going on to win the third set 15-6.

While the Panthers went into the second day of the tournament with a 2-0 record in pool play, they quickly found their momentum halted by two losses before bracket play began.

After winning the first set against Montgomery Catholic, Pelham took a tight 25-23 second set loss before falling 15-10 in the third set. That same scenario happened in the final match of pool play as the Panthers beat Tennessee’s Blackman in the first set before losing sets two and three.

Pelham’s 2-2 record landed it in fourth place in the five-team pool and a spot in the Bronze Bracket of the tournament.

Faced with Lawrence County in the first round, the Panthers got their first win of the day after they started the match with a 25-14 first-set win before taking the second set 25-13.

That left Pelham with a matchup against Fort Payne in the quarterfinals. After winning the first set 25-20, the Panthers claimed an even wider 25-17 win in the second set to sweep the series and put them two matches away from a championship.

Pelham then faced a stiff test from Jasper in a match that was decided by the finest of margins. Both the first and second sets went to extra points after the teams were tied at 24 points each, but the Panthers stood tall and won each of the extra points to win both sets 26-24.

With six straight set wins in their back pocket, Pelham faced the Class 7A Hewitt-Trussville Huskies in the Bronze Bracket finals.

The first set was as tight as it gets with three rounds of extra points needed the separate the teams. Ultimately, Hewitt-Trussville earned the 29-27 win to go up 1-0 in the match and put the pressure on Pelham.

However, Pelham responded with a 25-20 win in the second set to force a decisive third set for the Bronze Bracket crown.

The Panthers took that set 15-9 to earn the championship and finish the tournament with a 6-2 record.

Pelham is now 6-3 on the season and will look to keep rolling with a pair of home matches this week, first against Shades Valley on Tuesday, Aug. 27 and then against Tuscaloosa County on Thursday, Aug. 27. First serve for both matches is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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