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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTGOMERY – If there was a word to describe the Pelham Panthers this season, it would be resilient.

The Panthers geared up for the playoffs by overcoming adversity throughout their 6-0 run through area play and faced their biggest setback just last week in a heartbreaking loss to Chelsea for the area title.

However, that was nothing compared to the pressure they faced with their season on the line in the South Super Regionals at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery: a 2-1 deficit to the Saraland Spartans followed by a first-set defeat to the Northridge Jaguars.

Just like they have throughout the season though, the Panthers’ resilience showed in a 3-2 victory over Saraland and a 3-1 win over Northridge on Wednesday, Oct. 23, punching their ticket to their second state tournament appearance in three years.

“It’s always a crowning achievement to get to that point of the season,” Pelham coach Perry Robinson said. “It’s been a challenging week-and-a-half for us, but we just keep playing, and we’ll play as many as it takes, and super proud to keep on going.”

After surviving a five-set war with Saraland, Pelham found itself facing more early adversity against Northridge with a state tournament spot on the line.

While the Panthers got out to an early 3-1 lead, the Jags used a 3-0 run to take a 6-4 lead that they would not relinquish.

Pelham drew within a couple of points of taking the lead multiple times, but Northridge got to set point with a 24-20 lead after winning back-to-back points.

However, that’s when the momentum began to shift.

The Panthers put a scare in the Jags with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 24-23. While Northridge won the next point to take the 25-23 first-set win, Pelham’s momentum carried over into the second set and beyond.

The Panthers started the second set on a 4-1 run and would lead wire-to-wire in the frame. Their lead would balloon to 13-6 before Northridge took a timeout to regroup.

Pelham kept rolling after the timeout and led 20-9, but the Jags struck back at that point. Northridge took seven straight points to cut the deficit to 20-16, forcing the Panthers to respond.

Pelham brushed off the pressure and won the third set 25-18, tying up the match at one set win apiece.

The Panthers got off to a blazing start in the third set, going on an 8-0 run to begin. That set the tone for the rest of the set as they continued to pull away.

Another 8-0 run made the lead 24-4, and after Northridge briefly stayed in the set off the only time it won two straight points in the set, Claire Robinson finished off the third with a kill to seal the 25-6 win.

Now with a 2-1 lead in the match, Pelham saw out the match from there to seal its spot at state.

The Panthers got out in front with a 3-0 run and led from start to finish for the third straight set. A 7-0 run helped the lead increase to nine, and Northridge would soon call timeout trailing 14-5.

Pelham won five straight points out of the timeout to tighten its grip on the match with a 19-8 lead, and it would go on to reach match point with a 24-10 lead.

The Jags briefly kept their season alive with back-to-back points, but Wynn got the kill off the side-out to win the fourth set 25-12 and punch her team’s ticket to state.

Before that matchup though, the Panthers were locked in a tight matchup with the Saraland Spartans.

Saraland took early control of the first-round match by claiming the lead. Pelham would get close to tying the match up, cutting the deficit to 20-18.

The Spartans pulled away though, winning the final three points of the set to win 25-18.

The Panthers responded by taking an early lead in the second set, and after Saraland tied the set up at 5-5 with a 3-0 run, Pelham got a 3-0 run of its own and never looked back.

The Spartans got back in the match by making the Panthers’ lead 11-9, but Pelham locked in and won six of the next seven points capped by back-to-back Camryn McMinn kills to force a Saraland timeout.

After the Panthers went up 18-10 right after the timeout, the Spartans won four straight to make the score 18-14 and make Pelham regroup. That would be the last bit of adversity the Panthers would face in the set as they went on a 7-2 run after the timeout.

That run was capped by a Londyn Wynn kill, a big Pelham block and a Wynn ace to seal the 25-16 win and tie up the match at 1-1.

Saraland mounted a huge response in the third set with a 6-0 run to start the set. That lead would grow to 14-5 before the Panthers called timeout.

Pelham made some noise late to come back from trailing 22-8 and make it a single-digit deficit, but the Spartans saw out the 25-14 win to go up 2-1 in the match.

Needing a response to save their season, the Panthers found themselves trailing 5-3 early on but immediately rallied for a 6-5 lead. That kicked off a back-and-forth stretch where the teams exchanged leads before Pelham took a 12-10 lead off three straight points.

Saraland got the benefit of a controversial call on the next point, but the Panthers brushed it off and went on a 9-1 run that put the lead out of reach.

The Spartans won a few late points to make some noise, but two swings that went out of bounds officially gave the fourth set to Pelham. The Panthers’ 25-17 win forced a decisive fifth set to see who would advance to the next round.

Saraland went up in the fifth set with a 4-1 lead, but Pelham then drew within one with a McMinn kill.

The teams traded the next few points before the Spartans got out to an 8-5 lead. However, their next swing went over the back line, and the Panthers then got an Aubrie Smith solo block and the point after that to tie the set at 8-8.

Saraland responded with a kill in the middle of the floor to retake the lead, but Pelham got an ace from Wynn to claim the 10-9 lead. The Spartans won two the following three points to tie the set at 11-11.

However, that’s when the Panthers stood tall and finished the job. McMinn got a kill to take the 12-11 lead, and she and Kaliyah Arrington extended that lead to 13-11 with a block.

Two points later, a foul call on Saraland finished the job and the Pelham players mobbed each other on the court to celebrate the 15-11 fifth-set win and a 3-2 match win to reach the second round.

At the end of the day, Robinson credited their 2-0 loss to the Spartans in a tri-match on Oct. 10 for helping prepare them for the crucial super regionals matchup.

“We played them not too long ago, which that really helped and got to watch that a little bit closer and kind of see some tendencies that if we did the whole game plan, we figured it would work,” Robinson said. “We had some rough spots, but once we kind of settled in, we did what we needed to do and got what we wanted out of every rotation.”

Robinson also gave credit to his team for responding to the challenges the coaching staff laid out in practice since the area tournament which prepared them to overcome the adversity they faced in super regionals.

“They continue to learn,” Robinson said. “After last week, we pushed them hard in practice, we kind of challenged them a little bit and made it a little uncomfortable, and then a lot of prep work, too, which was a little different, but they just keep taking it. And that’s good, cause there’s more to come.”

More will come for Pelham when it faces the Gulf Shores Dolphins on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in the South Super Regional Semifinals.

That match along with their ensuing match at 4 p.m. that day against either Chelsea or Spanish Fort will decide their seed for the state tournament, which starts with the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 9 a.m. at the Birmingham CrossPlex.