BIRMINGHAM — It’s never smart to doubt the Addison volleyball program.

The majority of the state made that mistake this season and even at times during Thursday’s Class 2A Elite 8 championship.

But the Bulldogs never stopped believing — all the way to a five-set comeback over Providence Christian that clinched the second volleyball three-peat in school history.

Callie Brewer closed out the 25-20, 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 15-11 thriller with an ace, sending Addison’s players, coaches and fans into a frenzy that’s become all too familiar in Birmingham at this time of year.

The Blue and Gold entered as No. 2 and the Eagles, No. 1.

But the Dawgs left with the blue map — and that’s all that really mattered.

“It feels great,” said Brewer, who was named the 2A Elite 8 MVP. “I know a lot of people doubted us. We had a gameplan and we executed it. We just showed a lot of heart.”

Get used to reading the word “heart,” because Addison definitely wore it out while soaking in the championship triumph.

It’s an appropriate choice anyway, especially considering how the team staved off a 2-1 deficit, grabbed the momentum late in the fourth set and never let it slip.

With eight seniors but only two who’d been in a similar situation before — junior Maison Evans gave the squad a total of three — it wasn’t easy to ride the rollercoaster of emotions in a back-and-forth match like Thursday’s.

So how did the Bulldogs get it done?

The answer should be obvious.

“I think a lot of it came down to heart,” first-year head coach Kayla Woodard said. “They know what’s expected of them as an Addison volleyball player.”

Brewer (19 kills, 27 digs, a block and an ace) was accompanied on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Abbie Chambless (11 kills and a block), Ragen Yarbrough (35 assists and two digs) and Evans (23 digs and an ace).

Other contributors for the Blue and Gold were Sadie Brock, six kills and nine digs; Anna Tuggle, five kills, three aces and a dig; Taylor Erb, two kills, four aces and eight digs; Cecilee Gaither, three aces and two digs; and Hollison Sudduth, two aces.

“It doesn’t matter the size, but we’ve got the heart,” Yarbrough said. “We just knew in the back of our minds that everybody’s going to doubt us this year because of all the seniors we lost last year. We had some big shoes to fill. And coach Woodard had some big shoes to fill, and I think she did better than anybody else could fill them.”

The state title is the Dawgs’ eighth overall. Three have now been claimed in 2A (2009, 2014, 2015), with the other five coming in 1A (2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013).

Woodard has had a hand in six of those crowns — three as a player, two as an assistant to Pam Wilkins and one as a head coach.

The match was the last for eight Addison seniors: Brewer, Brock, Tuggle, Yarbrough, Erb, Sudduth, Macy Lake and Lisa Mote.

Holding back tears — or at least another round of them — Brewer tried to sum up her time as a Bulldog.

“Oh gosh, it’s hard to even think about it being over,” she said. “It really hasn’t set in yet. Anybody who’s came through here knows how much it means. It’s just a feeling you can’t even describe.”

Kendra Tyree and Reagan Smothers round out Addison’s roster. Susie Brewer served as assistant coach.

The Blue and Gold wrapped up the season 52-13. Providence Christian was 51-6.

The Bulldogs have now gone three full falls without dropping a match to an in-class opponent. Their last loss in the variety was to Donoho in the 2012 title tilt.