In a matchup of unbeatens in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, it was Nazareth remaining perfect on the season as they came to Emmaus on Tuesday night and defeated the Hornets in a five-set thriller 3-2 (29-27, 22-25, 29-31, 25-22, 15-10).
The Blue Eagles improved to 6-0 in the league joining fellow unbeaten Freedom, while Emmaus dropped to 6-1.
After dropping the first set, the Hornets were able to rally and win the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead. Nazareth, however, had a rally of their own as they took the fourth set and forced a winner-take-all fifth and deciding set in which they won 15-10.
The Blue Eagles were led by sophomore Cooper Madison who had 16 kills and seven digs. Senior Christian DeMrag was next with 12 kills and seven digs, while junior Taisen Van Hise had 11 kills, five digs and three blocks. Sophomore Joseph Ellis quarterbacked the offense, dishing out 42 assists and adding six kills, four blocks and four digs.
For Emmaus, junior outside hitter Miles Boulrice led the offense with 16 kills and nine digs. Senior Bilaal Kerim also had 16 kills, while defensively, seniors Jesse Owusu and Josiah Brown had 15 and 13 digs, respectively. Senior Ben Skekel handed out 43 assists.
The Hornets will look to bounce back tonight at 5:30 p.m. as they face another difficult task traveling to Northampton (5-1 EPC/7-2 overall).
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Updated EPC Standings:
Nazareth 6-0
Freedom 5-0
Emmaus 5-1
Northampton 5-1
Parkland 4-1
Liberty 3-3
Whitehall 2-3
PM East 2-3
Easton 1-4
Dieruff 1-4
Allen 1-6
PM West 1-7
Becahi 0-7