ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — It took a deciding game in an exciting five-game final, but the Fairhope Pirates (18-16) claimed the 2011 6A Area 3 volleyball title Tuesday at Robertsdale (27-17) with a 25-20, 19-25, 15-25, 25-22, 15-9 win over the Golden Bears.

Daphne and Foley fell in the elimination rounds as their seasons came to an end. Fairhope took out the Lady Trojans 25-17, 25-15, 25-23 and Robertsdale knocked out Foley’s Lady Lions 25-12, 25-13, 25-23. The Bears and Pirates move on to the 6A Region A tournament at Fairhope Saturday with competition beginning at 10 a.m.

“I am excited for the girls,” Fairhope first-year head coach Melissa Plash said. "They have worked hard this entire season and deserve to be playing at Regionals. The key to our success is going to be whether or not we play as a team and if we play a consistent game. In the past we have struggled with Baker, but I believe our team has improved over the course of the season and can compete with the best of teams.”

Fairhope will open play against Baker at 10 am. RHS will face Mary G. Montgomery at 11:15 a.m.

Golden Bears head coach Metta Roberts was proud of her young team’s effort.

“I was proud of the way my kids played,” she said. “We just didn’t play real good in game five and that is the one you’ve got to play good in. We just didn’t finish. We are young and we have young hitters, with the exception of Kayli (Evans), but we have a lot to build on and a lot to look forward to.”

Roberts said she made some adjustments after the last meeting with Fairhope which also went five games, but with the Bears winning to tie the Pirates for the regular-season title. A point-system tie breaker was used to set the area site at RHS.

“Fairhope, I have to give a hats-off to them,” she added. “They capitalized on the things that we scored on them last time so we had to tweak our offense a little bit just so we could stay ahead. They just really played a good defensive game against us. I just wish them good luck.”

Tuesday, the Pirates got off to an early start in game one and held on as the Bears rallied back. The rally momentum carried over as RHS won games 2 and 3 before FHS forced game five with their second win.

With the Game-5 score tied 2-2, Fairhope senior Briege Donahue hammered out a service run of nine-straight Pirate points for an 11-2 lead in the, first-to-15-points, deciding game. RHS outscored FHS 7-4 the rest of the way but it was too little too late.

“I was nervous, a little, but I usually am on my first serve,” Donahue said. “Especially a big game like this one. I always feel like I have to get that first serve in, then relax and mentally focus more on getting it in but hitting hard and adding more power each time and in that game it just, it was just so crucial to keep it in but keep it hard to receive, too. Then as it went on, I just felt more confident and kept going. Robertsdale has a really good defense and I was lucky to get one in. They pass everything, it’s hard to ace a team like them so I was lucky to get even one in on them.”

Rachel Cooper led Fairhope with 34 kills, 22 blocks and 11 digs; Kali Martin had 31 kills, 33 digs and 7 blocks; Melissa Rew had 12 kills, 19 blocks; Donahue added 12 kills, 17 blocks, 13 digs, libero Sabriah Crenshaw had 40 digs and setter Courtney Ellis 80 assists with 22 digs.

Evans led RHS with 39 kills, 27 digs; Austin Richardson added 25 kills, 24 digs, Maddie Petite 14 blocks and setter Ebony Mitchell put up 54 assists.

In the semifinals, Emily Robertson led Foley with 8 kills, Natasha Johnson had 3 blocks, Tomi Knighten added 8 digs and Vanessa Dilley 9 assists. Daphne was led by Katherine Barr with 10 kills and 8 digs; Sierra Patterson with 8 kills, 24 digs; Krista Owens with 6 kills, 13 digs; Kelsey Roebuck with 5 kills; Jordan Filotei's 25 digs; Anna Ramsey's 14 digs and Kayla Owens setting for 20 assists with 3 kills and 19 digs.

Other 6A teams who made the Region A tournament include Baldwin County High which finished runner up to McGill-Toolen in Area 4. The Lady Tigers face the Panthers of Murphy (Area 2) at 10 a.m. along side of Fairhope and Baker (Area 1).

While RHS meets MGM at 11:15 a.m., Alma Bryant will take on No. 1-ranked McGill-Toolen. The semifinals are set for 1:30 p.m. and the championship at 4 p.m.