Up until last week's District 11 Class AAA semifinal, there has only been one team that had taken a game from the Parkland volleyball team all season. Emmaus (18-3) had won game three of the four-game set in the Lehigh Valley Conference finals back on October 16.

The LVC champion Trojans (19-1) cruised through their first 19 matches, but that all came to an abrupt end last Tuesday night in the district semifinal game at Whitehall High School.

The Green Hornets played near flawless volleyball and attacked Parkland every game, taking the match by scores of 26-24, 25-19, and 25-21 to advance to the District 11 final. And the win felt like a long time coming for head coach Gwen Millets and senior Alexandra Traynor.

"It felt so good," Millets said. "Besides waiting so long [to beat Parkland], as a coach you want your kids to know how much they mean to you. These girls work so hard academically, in the gym and out of school.

"I see the improvement every day and you hope for that one time when it all comes together. This is it. They looked fantastic. They were amazing. That's the team that we have."

"It's an awesome feeling because they beat us twice this year," said Traynor. "It's a rivalry game and to finally beat them as a senior feels great."

Having lost to the Trojans in the district tournament each of the last three years, Emmaus played with a lot of passion and energy.

Parkland came out flat, and trailed in game one until finally taking a lead at 12-11, but the Hornets kept fighting back. Leading at game point 24-22, Emmaus rallied to score four in a row and stunningly take the first game.

With the Trojans back on their heels from the get-go, they bounced back in game two to lead up until a 13-13 tie. Parkland wouldn't see another advantage the remainder of the game.

Game three was back-and-forth throughout, with the Trojans holding the biggest lead at 14-10. With a 20-17 advantage, Parkland looked to be forming some momentum, but just as the Trojans got going, Emmaus scored the next five points and held on for the 3-0 victory.

Mackenzie O'Brien (13 kills, 15 digs) and Megan Forstburg (11 kills, Five digs) tallied double-digit kills, and Traynor contributed seven kills and 14 digs. Rebecca Houghton recorded 32 assists and 13 digs for the Green Hornets.