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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – After going to five sets against the Helena Huskies last month, the Pelham Panthers faced the prospect of another lengthy war as Autumn Saffold rose above the net for a solo block to tie the fourth set at 23-23.

However, just like they had throughout the final three sets, they rose to each challenge that Helena presented.

Pelham regained serve with a kill before a Helena hitting error ended the proceedings, giving the Panthers a 25-23 fourth-set win and a 3-1 match win over their neighboring rivals on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Pelham High School.

In the process, Pelham gave itself a more favorable matchup in the playoffs.

With the four-set win, the Panthers left themselves tied with Helena and Chelsea at 2-4 in Class 6A, Area 8. What’s more, since it went to four sets, each team was tied at a 50 percent set win percentage against each other, the first tiebreaker in the rulebook.

From there, it went to whichever team won the highest percentage of points against each other, a tiebreaker that left Chelsea as the No. 2 seed, Pelham at No. 3 and Helena at No. 4.

That means the Spain Park Jaguars will face Helena in the first semifinal of the area tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. while Chelsea and Pelham will battle in the other at 5:30 p.m. The championship will take place following the conclusion of both semifinals with all matches taking place at Spain Park High School.

As for the match itself, Helena won the first two points, but Kaliyah Arrington and Kayla Girardin anchored a 6-0 Pelham run with strong front-row play and serving, respectively. That gave the Panthers a 6-2 lead and forced a Huskies timeout.

Pelham remained in front as Helena started trading points, but after the Huskies broke serve down 10-7, they made their move for the lead. Mady Mamucud served to help push Helena in front, and the Huskies took an 11-10 lead to make the Panthers regroup.

The Huskies grew their lead to 13-10 with the 7-0 run, which included two aces from Mamucud, before Pelham broke serve. That run proved definitive as Monroe Bouler and Riley Woods soon helped Helena take a 16-11 lead.

The Panthers drew back within two at 19-17, but the Huskies then won back-to-back points to reassert themselves as the favorites. Helena kept the hosts at an arm’s length before Ella Wilbon finished the 25-19 first-set win with a kill.

Pelham quickly shifted the momentum from there.

The Panthers responded in an emphatic way in the second set, riding a Nyssa Wynn opening ace to a 6-1 run to start the set. That lead only grew to 9-2 before Helena tried to cut the deficit.

The Huskies could only get as close as 10-6, but after that, Pelham slammed the door shut with a 7-1 run that got Helena to call its second timeout.

From there, the Huskies won the next three points to draw within seven, but the Panthers front row took advantage of its chance to put the set away after that. Aubrie Smith and Claire Robinson put Pelham on set point with kills.

Helena briefly extended the set with a Bouler dump, but a service error sealed the 25-12 win for the Panthers to tie the match at 1-1.

Pelham started the third set on a shorter 4-1 run before Helena drew back within one. Sydney Hill then helped the Panthers win three-straight points to extend the lead back to four, which was where it stayed briefly as the Huskies committed multiple errors.

Ryleigh Deaver and Wynn then pushed Pelham in front 13-7 for one of the largest leads of the set. However, a service error gave it back to the Huskies, who stayed in the set with two aces from Woods and a kill from Sydney Strawbridge. Helena cut the deficit to 13-12 before a hitting error broke the serve.

That kept Pelham in front, albeit by a tight margin as the teams largely traded errors to flip the serve. The Panthers called timeout after regaining serve with an 18-16 lead, and they used the break to clean things up and take control.

Hill snagged an ace right out of the break and Pelham won two more points after that, putting the hosts in front 21-16 and forcing a Helena timeout. It proved to be the decisive blow as the Panthers finished the set on a 7-1 run capped off by a Lilia Couture ace.

With a 25-17 third-set win in their pocket, Pelham set off with intentions of ending the match in the fourth set. The Huskies had other ideas though.

Woods started the set with the serve and won the first four points, including an ace. In all, Helena sprinted ahead to a 9-1 lead before a hitting error flipped it back to Pelham.

The Panthers surged back in response and used big kills from Bristol Hannah and Robinson to cap off a 6-0 run, slashing the deficit to 9-7. Pelham briefly gave up the serve off an error but used a Smith ace out of a timeout to tie the set, and the Panthers took an 11-10 lead on the next point.

The teams traded serve and the lead over the next stretch as Helena retook a 12-11 lead and then tied the set up at 15-15 following dueling runs from each side. However, a missed block gave Pelham the serve back, and soon enough, Wynn got a kill for an 18-15 lead to force a final Huskies timeout.

The Panthers kept Helena at an arm’s length for the next stretch before the Huskies cut the deficit to 22-21. That led to a Pelham timeout to regroup following a hitting error, and right afterwards, a hitting error from Helena’s side put the Panthers up 23-21.

A service error then put the Huskies on the line with a chance to tie it at 23-23, which is exactly what happened thanks to a solo block from Saffold. That energized Helena and put the Panthers in survival mode.

Pelham buckled down and regained the serve ahead of sealing the 3-1 win with a 25-23 fourth-set victory.

Pelham improved to 13-21 overall in addition to its 2-4 area record. The Panthers will now travel south for a tri-match against Spanish Fort and Saraland on Thursday, Oct. 9 before taking part in ShrimpFest in Gulf Shores on Oct. 10 and 11. Pool play matches are set against Saraland, Trinity Presbyterian and Montgomery Academy.

Helena is now 20-16 following the loss and 2-4 in area play. The Huskies will head home to face the Hillcrest Patriots of Tuscaloosa on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 5:30 p.m. for their last home match of the season.

Then, it’s tournament action at the Supreme Courts Pre-Area Invitational in Guntersville on Saturday, Oct. 11. Pool play matches are set against Cold Springs, St. Clair County and Cherokee County.