BIRMINGHAM – The Pleasant Home Eagles started the day of strong with a 3-1 victory over the Spring Garden Panthers, but came up on the short end of the 3-1 match against the Athens Bible Trojans in the semi-finals of the AHSAA state tournament.

The first set against the Panthers went back and forth until the end. The Eagles won the set 25-23 with 8th grader River Baldwin coming up strong for the Eagles in some key moments.

The second set was total domination by the Eagles, who raced out to an early 8-1 advantage, ultimately winning 25-13.

It looked the Eagles might sweep the Panthers, but the Panthers finished strong beating the Eagles 25-21.

The Eagles started off slow in the fourth set, but great communication and teamwork prevailed, and the Eagles capped the victory with a 25-21 eliminate the Panthers from competition.

River Baldwin once again provided a spark for her time scoring five consecutive points for the Eagles, at one point.

The semi-final game versus the Athens Bible Trojans started off with a 25 -18 victory and the Eagles closed out the first set by going scoring seven straight points.

The Eagles certainly appeared to be soaring going up 4-0 in the second set, but just couldn’t hang on losing 25-20.

The third set started with the Panthers going up 8-0, and the Eagles just couldn’t play catch up, losing 25-17.

The fourth set stayed tight until the Panthers went on a 8-1 run in the middle of the set. They ended up winning 25-18 to clinch a spot in the championship game.

“I don’t think anybody expected us to get where we got, but hey we were a final four team,” said Eagles head coach Jerry Davis. “We have played great the past few weeks and then today we just didn’t play well, but you have to give Athens Bible credit.”

The Eagles finished the season with a 26-5 record.

Jade Self, Anna Bulger, Cassidy Godwin, Samatha Stamnes, and Johnnie Forehand also played well for the Eagles.