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Indian Springs capped off an undefeated run through area play with sweep wins over Midfield and Tarrant to clinch the area championship at home and advance to regionals. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – Indian Springs finished off a dominant run through area play with back-to-back 3-0 sweeps over the Midfield Patriots and Tarrant Wildcats to clinch the area championship on Thursday, Oct. 19.

With the wins, Springs is now a perfect 8-0 in area play in 2023, and they will advance to the regional tournament as the top seed from Class 3A, Area 7.

To start the day, Indian Springs easily took its semifinal matchup against Midfield, winning in straight sets, 3-0, to set up a match for the title with Tarrant, who defeated Childersburg, 3-1, just before the championship match.

Indian Springs opened up the game with a 7-4 lead, but it would soon open up a wide lead to seal the set. Springs quickly went up 12-5, and they finished the set on a 13-3 run to take the first set, 25-8, and go up 1-0 in the match.

Tarrant battled back in the second set and trailed by just one point as Indian Springs led 8-7. Springs established a four-point lead shortly after and pulled away from there.

After Indian Springs went up 23-16, it scored back-to-back points to close out the second set win. The 25-16 win put Springs up 2-0 in the match as they put the pressure back on Tarrant after the Wildcats’ challenge to begin the set.

From there, Indian Springs grabbed control of the match by getting off to a commanding start to the third set. It won the first four points of the set and kept its momentum rolling to go on a 11-3 run to begin the set.

Springs’ lead only extended from there as they went up 16-4 before growing it to 21-6 for a 15-point lead. In the end, the final gap was 18 points as Indian Springs cruised to a 25-7 win in the third set, which sealed the 3-0 straight-set win and the area championship.

Indian Springs will face Sumter Central in the first round of the 3A South Regional tournament in Montgomery on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 10:15 a.m.