MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Martin Methodist Volleyball team saw its 2017 season come to a close in heartbreaking fashion last weekend at the 2017 SSAC Volleyball Championship held at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

The RedHawks finished the season with a 21-11 record and the 21 victories marked the most in a year for the program since 2007 when the RedHawks won 24 contests.

The RedHawks earned the No. 3 seed overall and were placed in Pool B of the eight-team field.

The RedHawks dropped their first two contests to Loyola (La.) University and Middle Georgia State College and it appeared as if all hope were lost for the possibility of advancement to Saturday's championship rounds.

But, thanks to a determined effort from the squad, the RedHawks rallied to stun No. 2 seed William Carey (Miss.) University in their third outing, 3-2. In one of the wildest finishes in recent memory, the RedHawks took a 2-0 lead in the contest before they found themselves tied at 2-2 entering a fifth and final set.

Needing a win to push the pool into a three-way tie for second place, the RedHawks dug deep and gutted out a 20-18 victory over the Crusaders to force the tiebreak.

As the three seed, the RedHawks squared off against the fourth-seeded Knights of Middle Georgia in a one-set playoff. The winner would advance to meet second-seed William Carey. After a slow start, the RedHawks began to rally, but came up too little too late in a 25-22 defeat.

With the loss, the RedHawks say farewell to six seniors that helped engineer one of the biggest turnarounds in program history.

Jade Paris, Brittney Pepitone, Sophia Paes, Belen Albertos Asencio, Brayden Auer and Emilee Wagner all started or saw major minutes this season as the RedHawks improved by seven wins from a year ago.

After 31 wins in the last three years combined, the RedHawks reeled off 21 wins in 2017 and laid the foundation for a strong program going forward.