Coming off of three straight wins against conference opponents, the Emmaus volleyball team was on a roll heading into its clash against the No. 1 team in the state last Friday afternoon in Orefield.

But then the Green Hornets ran into a brick wall that is the Trojans.

Parkland (15-0) took it to Emmaus (12-3) in the first two games, and held on in a dramatic game three to take the match by scores of 25-20, 25-13, and 32-30.

"They just didn't come out with a lot of energy the first two games," said Emmaus head coach Gwen Millets. "The spirit and enthusiasm definitely changed over from the first two games. They can absolutely play with any team, but sometimes it takes those first couple of games for them to see that."

It was competitive in the first game, with the score tied up until the 12th point, but then the Trojans made a run to go up by as much as 12-6. The Green Hornets fought back and brought it to just one point twice at 15-14 and 16-15, but Parkland once again was able to break through with successive consecutive points.

Game two the Trojans got ahead early, and never looked back.

But in the third game, Emmaus found themselves. Down 24-19, they ripped off five straight to tie the game. The two teams went back-and-forth for the next 13 points until Parkland put it away at the 32nd point. It showed the resiliency and effort that the Green Hornets can play with every single game according to Millets.

"That's what they're capable of," said Millets. "When they play together like that they look phenomenal. It's so enjoyable to watch. You obviously never want to lose, but when a match is that competitive, back-and-forth, it makes me just sit there and watch. That's how it's supposed to be."

Mackenzie O'Brien tallied 18 kills and 13 digs. Megan Forstburg notched 9 kills and 12 digs, and Erin Stanton had 8 kills. Rebecca Houghton contributed 34 assists.

Emmaus bounced back to defeat Whitehall on Monday, 3-0 by scores of 25-22, 25-12, and 25-12.

Sydney Pickering had 9 digs while Alicia Grim finished with 7 digs.

Emmaus finishes off the regular season with a rematch at Central Catholic, who they lost to 3-2 two weeks ago, on Wednesday evening.