Last Thursday night in the District 11 final at Whitehall High School, the Emmaus girls volleyball team looked across the court and saw a familiar opponent. One that the Hornets have seen many times in big games this year and in years past.

In 2013, the Green Hornets were able to take down Parkland in the semifinals of the district tournament. This year the two teams matched up in the final.

It was also the fourth time the rivals squared off this season, the most recent coming in the inaugural Eastern Pennslvania Conference final two weeks ago.

But unlike the previous district tournament showdown, the Trojans got the better of the Green Hornets last week, winning 3-0 and ending Emmaus' season short of a district championship for the second straight year. Parkland won by scores of 25-15, 27-25, and 25-13.

"I can't complain about anything," said Emmaus head coach Gwen Millets about her team's season. "I think it's fantastic. We've come a long way from where we were at the beginning of the season. It was nice to see the transformation of this team and them coming together."

Parkland (22-0) has not been challenged most of the year and is the No. 1 team in the state according to MaxPreps rankings. The Hornets (17-5) knew what to expect. They came out strong and didn't back down.

Game one saw the score tied at 5-5, but the Trojans took control, scoring the next seven points. But in game two Emmaus gave Parkland all that it could handle.

Major contributions came from two unexpected players. With the score tied at 2-2, junior defensive specialist Abigail Moore was inserted into the lineup to serve, and she helped to build a lead. Then when senior Mackenzie O'Brien left for a brief time due to injury, freshman Georgia Traynor found herself on the court in the biggest game of her young career, and she ignited the spark that the Green Hornets needed until O'Brien could return. They never missed a beat with these two in the lineup.

"I was really happy with the way some things went tonight," noted Millets. "We were able to keep it close, especially in that second game. Even when we had that little speed bump with Mackenzie getting injured, they embraced it. Everybody rallied around each other and did really well."

That close second game, which went into extra points, may have taken a lot out of Emmaus.

The Green Hornets scored the first point in the third game, and trailed just 9-8 early. But that's when Parkland saw the finish line and took it into second gear, outscoring Emmaus 16-5 the remainder of the way to finish off the match.

"I'm proud of the girls for another great season, and the seniors who were great leaders for us," said Millets. "We have a lot of young girls that will be back and continue the winning ways here at Emmaus."

O'Brien finished with 8 kills and 8 digs. Senior Erin Stanton tallied 11 kills, while classmate Sydney Pickering recorded 6 digs. Junior Megan Forstburg had kills and 14 digs.