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The Pelham Panthers are heading to the Class 6A state championship match tomorrow after downing Gulf Shores in straight sets for the second time in six days. (Reporter Photos/Alec Etheredge)

(Reporter Photo/Andrew Simonson)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – With the Pelham Panthers trailing the Gulf Shores Dolphins 6-5 in the second set, coach Perry Robinson’s side flipped a switch and capitalized on the 1-0 lead in the match.

Londyn Wynn got a kill to tie up the set and start a 4-0 run, and the Panthers wouldn’t trail for the rest of the match.

After a 25-21 first-set victory, Pelham won the second set 25-11 and the third set 25-8 to seal the 3-0 sweep of the Gulf Shores Dolphins in the Class 6A semifinals at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

With the win, the Panthers will now have a shot to claim their fourth state title and first since 2017 against the Spanish Fort Toros on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. at the CrossPlex’s Bill Harris Arena.

“I was just talking to my staff, you get to the state title in 6A this year, 6A’s been incredibly hard all year,” Pelham coach Perry Robinson said. “Just super excited for the players. They’re doing what we’re asked, they continue to get better every day, including yesterday in practice, they were working on stuff, so I just love it. It’s very exciting.”

Before the Panthers pulled away though, the first set was a back-and-forth affair.

Facing Gulf Shores for the second time in six days after Pelham swept the Dolphins in the South Super Regional semifinals, the two sides split the opening eight points before the Panthers won four straight points to go up 10-6 heading into a Gulf Shores timeout.

The Dolphins drew within a couple of points, but Pelham remained largely in control and stayed in front in the set.

However, the tides began to turn after the Panthers went up 16-13. Gulf Shores won three of the next four points to tie the set at 17-17, forcing a Pelham timeout.

That led to a back-and-forth stretch where the teams traded the lead over the next eight points before a 21-21 tie.

The Panthers surged from there, winning the next three points to get on set point at 24-21. While the Dolphins got a shot to ride the tape for a set-extending kill, Wynn sneaked a swing through the block to get the final kill and take the 25-21 first-set win for Pelham.

The Panthers then got out to a 4-1 lead in the second set before Gulf Shores responded and tied up the set at 4-4. A Dolphins service error gave the 5-4 lead back to Pelham, but Gulf Shores won two more points to get back up 6-5.

Wynn got a kill on the next point to tie up the set and kick off a 4-0 run, triggering a Dolphins timeout and giving the Panthers a 9-6 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the way.

Wynn capped off another 3-0 run with an ace to force another Gulf Shores stoppage with the lead at 15-8, and that grew to 16-8 to make the run 4-0 before the Dolphins responded.

The Panthers surrendered the serve just two more times after that to finish off the 25-11 second-set win, putting them just a set win away from a state championship appearance.

Pelham got off to a flying start in the third set, using its momentum to go on a 5-0 run. Gulf Shores was unable to hold on to the serve for long after that, and the Panthers pulled away for a 10-3 lead.

After going up 14-6, Pelham continued to separate itself from the Dolphins with a 10-0 run that put the Panthers on match point with a 24-6 lead.

Gulf Shores won back-to-back points to briefly keep its season alive, but Camryn McMinn capped off the win with a kill to seal the 25-8 third-set victory, 3-0 sweep in the match and a trip to the finals.

Wynn and McMinn carried the load for the Pelham offense as Wynn had 18 kills and McMinn earned 17 kills. Both senior outsides also had six digs while McMinn had three aces and Wynn earned two.

Kylee Hester secured 37 assists along with nine digs, an ace and a block, and Kamryn Rouveyrol got 11 digs, five aces and three assists.

After the match, Robinson said that preventing mistakes in the second and third sets helped the Panthers establish dominant leads and pull away with long service runs.

“The first set, we felt like we gave a bunch of points away, and so we kind of cleaned up our side, and then once we got our side cleaned up, we were able to do what we needed to do to, put the ball where we needed it to kind of help ourselves out,” Robinson said.

Robinson thanked the fans for showing out in force to the CrossPlex and urged them to return for a challenging state title matchup against Spanish Fort, a team which swept Chelsea 3-0 and split the season series with the Panthers.

Pelham won their Sept. 7 Mayor’s Cup meeting 2-0 before falling 2-0 in a tri-match at Spanish Fort High School on Oct. 10.

“Spanish Fort also swept, so we’re both doing that, so it’s going to be a tough matchup tomorrow,” Robinson said. “They will be very well prepared, and every time we play them, it’s always a hard match, so we’re excited for the opportunity.”

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