Parkland girls volleyball moves to 11-0 with win over Emmaus

The Emmaus girls volleyball team may have picked the wrong night to go to Parkland High School as the Green Hornets walked into a celebration of the Trojans senior players.

Whether it was that or just another night on the court for Parkland, Emmaus left without winning a set. The reason may just be that a team really can’t play much better than the Trojans are right now. With a straight-set win on Tuesday night, Parkland moved to 11-0 on the season and still has not lost a set this season.

Emmaus took an early lead in the first set at 5-2, but Parkland got the serve back and senior Maggie Smith kept going until the Trojans were up 6-5 and after the Hornets broke serve, Maddie Siggins got serve back with a block and Parkland went on a spree to take a 10-6 edge. From there, the Trojans never looked back. A kill by Ava Best made it 23-16 and Meghan Haines took over on serve and made it 24-16, but Emmaus broke serve to give itself one last shot, but Parkland immediately put the set away with a 25-17 win.

“I thought Maggie [Smith] did a really good job of serving tonight and really delivered the ball well and that gave our hitters more energy,” said coach Mike Krause. “They did a good job of talking to each other on the floor and take the lead, which is pretty good.”

After the first set, Smith served for seven points in the second set and eight in the final set, including seven of the eight final points. Parkland grabbed the lead at 3-1 in the second set and from there, just wore down Emmaus, allowing the Hornets just five points off serves and took the set 25-14. Alli Reimer seemed to stand taller and meaner at the net as the game went on, frustrating Emmaus with her ability to block shots and deliver kills.

“It’s always a great feeling to win and some games are bigger than others,” Reimer said. “It’s really coming together for us and it’s important that we are all playing together as a team.”

In the third set, it was Parkland all the way, again as the Trojans limited Emmaus to five service points. When the Trojans got serve up 17-13, the game still seemed within reach for the Hornets, but Smith was again up to serve.

“It’s always my mindset. I always want to serve out the entire game no matter what the score is,” Smith said. “It’s the competitiveness in me and I always want to grind as hard as I can and I was glad that I had that opportunity.”

While she fell just short, by the time Emmaus was able to break serve, the Hornets were down 24-14. Senior Rowan Stevens looked to pull her team back into the game, but Parkland quickly broke the service and took the final set 25-14.

“I think this win sends a message to us,” Krause said. “It helps us remember what we are capable of doing and helps us gain more confidence that we can handle the stress of a rivalry and then still play. They looked comfortable for Senior Night and it was good getting the seniors out there and seeing the way they played,” Krause said. “That was pretty good.”

WILD THINGS AHEAD
The 4A classification in districts has three undefeated teams – Parkland, Pleasant Valley (12-0) and Southern Lehigh (10-0) – all battling for the top spot. While the Trojans have not lost a set, the Panthers and Spartans have both lost just one set this season. Those three teams, along with Liberty (9-2) have all qualified for districts with Easton (8-3), Emmaus (7-4), Nazareth (8-4), and Pocono Mountain West (8-4) all well on their way.