By SETH HAGAN | For the Reporter

BIRMINGHAM – Pelham and Spanish Fort entered their semifinal match at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Wednesday, Oct. 31, not only as the No. 3 and No. 1 teams in the state, respectively, but tied for the fewest losses on the year with five each.

Whoever took their sixth loss of the season would determine which of the two teams advanced to the Class 6A volleyball state championship.

The Toros (55-5) have been dominant all year, never dropping from their preseason No. 1 ranking and proved why as they limited the Panthers high-powered offense just enough to close a furious finish in both final sets to sweep the semifinal match 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-23).

For the Panthers, it ended another magical run back to the Final Four of the state tournament and an impressive run at attempting to repeat as state champs with every team along the way giving Pelham their best shot.

The first set was all about the service game and quite literally determined the outcome.

With the teams tied at 11, Spanish Fort made their move hitting on three aces to key a 6-0 run that put the Toros up for good. Pelham attempted to fight back, but seemingly every time they found some momentum and gained possession a service error handed the ball right back to the Toros.

The Panthers sent an eye-popping five serves into the net and, with Spanish Fort finishing with four aces, the nine-point swing was too much to overcome as the Toros took the opening period 25-19.

“First set was a lot of unforced errors on our part,” said Pelham head coach Perry Robinson. “I just feel like we broke down on some stuff we wanted to control and we couldn’t control it.”

The second set took on a different feel with Spanish Fort slowly building their lead as the match went on. The Toros’ incredible service game continued as they registered two more aces, led 18-11 and looked to have the set well in hand.

The crisp serves made it extremely difficult for the Panthers to get into their sets, which led directly to a less powerful presence at the net. However, Pelham found a spark in an unlikely place for a state semifinal match in freshman inside hitter Elizabeth Hayhurst.

Hayhurst, in just her third week coming back from an ankle injury, lit up the scoreboard to the tune of six kills in a seven point span. The run suddenly turned a grim 20-14 deficit into a 23-22 lead.

“She’s just now getting back to her form since she hurt herself,” Robinson said. “Of course we have several players we’re excited about for next year and Elizabeth’s one of them. And if you look back, her older sister, Courtney, played for us as well.”

Spanish Fort took the next point to tie the set at 23, and then the play of the match happened.

After receiving the Toros’ serve junior outside hitter Erin Long took a set on the left side and powered it over the net into the hands of Spanish Fort’s front line. The ball deflected downward and crashed to the hardwood for what looked to be the go-ahead point for the Panthers with just one more point needed for a set victory, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The referee nearest to the play determined Long’s follow through made illegal contact with the net and awarded the point to the Toros, who promptly scored on the next play to take the second set, 25-23.

Pelham fans in the stands were stunned, but could only look on as the No. 1 team in the state took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

Robinson did not challenge the call and explained his reasoning afterwards.

“We were in the net on that play,” he said. “The set was a little tight, Erin was playing super aggressive like we wanted her to be and she just got in the net. It’s volleyball, it happens. It’s just one of those things where they happen, you just don’t want them to happen when you’re tied at 23.”

Down an overwhelming deficit against their greatest opponent to date, the Panthers still refused to give up.

Neither team led by more than four points the final set and Long, Sarah Guthrie and Hayhurst continued to fight against Spanish Fort’s vaunted front line.

The effort was valiant, but the Toros blocked hit-after-hit and redirected many others forcing the Panthers to put more air under their shots.

Tied again at 23, the Toros finished the match off with two kills to advance to the state championship.

Though the 2017 champions didn’t get a chance to defend their title, Robinson took the time to recognize his senior class that helped put the program on the map.

“Sarah Guthrie and Georgia Stonicher were on the all-tournament team last year when we won,” he said. “Georgia has been a starter for 90% percent of the points over the last four years and Sarah was pulled up as a freshman and has been on varsity ever since as a big contributor. Josie Hester has done a little bit of everything for us. She’s settled in at libero and did a great job in her senior year and I’m super proud of her.”

Guthrie finished with nine kills and five digs, while Stonicher led the team with 26 assists and added six digs. Other contributors for the Panthers who will return to help the team next year included Hayhurst, who led the team with 13 kills, and Long, who had four kills and a team-high 14 digs.

Macie Jones, a junior, also showed promise along the front line with four blocks all of which went for points.

The Pelham Panthers ended their 2018 campaign with a 31-6 record.