The Parkland High School boys volleyball team played two five-set matches this spring.
Now the Trojans will have a rematch with both in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament.
The first rematch Thursday night went according to plan for top-seeded Parkland, which defeated fourth-seeded Liberty 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 in the conference semifinals at Sewers Gymnasium in Allen. is.
The Trojans (15-3) will face No. 3 seed Whitehall, which beat Emmaus 3-1, in the EPC final Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Allen.
Coach Scott Trumbauer said a lot has changed since defending PIAA Class 3A champion Parkland defeated Liberty 3-2 in both teams' season opener on March 18.
“All that stuff could be thrown out the window. They played together and meshed for a year,” he said. “They're obviously a very good team. Otherwise they wouldn't be here. I was happy with how we responded.”
The Trojans featured a balanced attack all night, with seniors Luke Smith, Alex Wilby, Brady Heyward and Owen Rodgers recording kills as part of a 6-1 run, 19-14. He led the first set.
Smith scored again to end the set at 25-22.
Liberty (13-5) built a modest lead early in the second before Parkland pulled in front, as it did in the first frame. Hayward's kill gave the Trojans a 17-13 lead.
However, the Hurricanes rallied thanks to a tip from senior Adam Mittle, a score from sophomore Frank Benedetto, and a hitting error by Parkland and tied the game at 20-20.
Junior Josh Nation got the Trojans back on track with a kill and two aces, and Wilby scored the winning goal for a 25-21 victory.
“He was effective all night from the outside and in the back row,” Trumbauer said of Nation. “We still have some room to grow. We still have some guys that normally play that weren't playing as much tonight. But Brady Heyward stepped in today and we played more offensively than usual. There's more power. The good news is that even if some people aren't producing as much as they normally would, someone else will pick it up.”
Parkland built a 20-15 advantage in the third set, but back-to-back kills by Mittle and two violations by the Trojans cut the lead to 21-20. Mittle scored two more points to bring the Hurricanes within one point (22-21, 23-22), but Heyward and Nation rounded out the win with kills.
Trumbauer was pleased with the team's response to Mittl, the EPC Player of the Year.
“Adam would go for the kill, but we slowed him down some, picked up a lot of other balls and transitioned and converted the way we wanted to,” he said. “So I was really happy.”
“We did a really good job of identifying where their primary hitters were and doing our best to shut them down and playing defense to transition from there,” Nation added.
Parkland, seeking its third consecutive conference title, will be able to avenge its only loss in its hometown when it faces Whitehall next week. The Trojans lost 3-2 to the Zephyrs on April 9.
“Obviously we want to avenge their loss,” Trumbauer said. “We saw them play unbelievably well tonight. They're rowdy…We have to be prepared for long rallies and intense plays.”
Nation said of the reunion with Whitehall, “It's something we've been looking forward to all year and wishing we'd had the opportunity.” “We're definitely looking forward to it…We're going to rest and then get back in the gym and work hard.”
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Kyle Craig can be contacted at: kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com.
