After falling to Parkland in five sets a little over two weeks ago on the road, the Emmaus seniors were looking forward to one last chance in their high school careers to defeat the Trojans before a near-capacity and energized crowd that gathered inside ‘The Hive’ on Spike Out Cancer Night on Wednesday night.
With not having beaten their archrivals since the 2019 season and having already suffered another loss earlier this week to another rival — Central Catholic in four sets — head coach Jess Olang’s team was looking to close out the regular season on a positive note and carry some of that momentum heading into the upcoming EPC Tournament.
The Hornets did just that – and then some – as they rallied for one of their best overall efforts of the season.
After watching Parkland win two of the first three sets to take a 2-1 lead, Emmaus was able to put together an incredible comeback as they won Set 4 and then the winner-take-all fifth and deciding set 15-12 on their way to earning their first win against the Trojans in six years.
“It was a huge milestone for us to beat Parkland and a big mental hurdle to get over,” said Olang. “The girls composure under pressure and unity was so impressive to watch.
“They served tough, blocked well and played incredible defense. Our passing allowed us to run our offense the way we needed to, and our hitters made smart decisions. Alyssa Heffner was a strong leader of our offense as well as a force to be reckoned with herself. She made great decisions and was an offensive weapon. Amanda Rivera led us in kills, also breaking 500 career kills milestone. It truly was a team effort. The coaches could not be prouder of our girls.”
With the rivalry win, Emmaus improves its overall record to 15-3 and 14-2 in the EPC. Parkland fell to 14-4 overall and 13-3 in the league.
Rivera, a senior, led the offense and reached a personal milestone in the win with her 500th career kill. Rivera was a force at the net with a team-high 18 kills to go along with 17 digs.
Sophomore Fiona Answini also had a strong game with 12 kills, while Heffner was her steady self handing out a game-high 43 assists to go along with eight kills and two aces.
Senior Corrine Slivka anchored the back row with a standout performance, collecting a game-high 29 digs and firing five aces while classmates Sophia Freemont and Haley Seidel also had strong defensive efforts with 19 and 18 digs, respectively. Sophomore setter/OH Emma Nesfeder also played well.
For the Trojans, senior Kasia Burda led the attack with 14 kills and five digs. Junior Riley Schilling had eight kills, while defensively, sophomore Chloe Coonradt had 36 digs. Freshman Alex Serina handed out 20 assists and had 11 digs and junior Gabby Brader had 14 assists.
Both teams will return to action on Saturday when the EPC Tournament gets underway. Matchup and times will be announced on Friday.
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Emmaus 3, Parkland 2
Set 1 – Parkland 25-18
Set 2 – Emmaus 25-18
Set 3 – Parkland 26-24
Set 4 – Emmaus 25-11
Set 5 – Emmaus 15-12
PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Tom Ashelman)