A sweep of Nazareth left the Northampton girls volleyball team with a record of 4-4, one win away from qualifying for districts for the second consecutive year.

In their way stood Bethehem Catholic. The Golden Hawks were undefeated, having swept all three sets in all but two of their 10 wins on the season.

On Monday in Pete Schneider Gymnasium, the K-Kids managed to take a set but ultimately fell 15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 12-25.

Northampton had one more do-or-die shot at Beca on Wednesday, but the match took place too late for this edition.

The K-Kids never trailed in the second set. When they ran off four straight points on Morgan Hughes’ serve to make the score 24-18, it looked like they would easily equalize the match. However, the fans of the Orange and Black had to endure a five-point run by the Hawks. The tension finally broke when Beca’s attempt to play off a block on a spike by Payton Reuber floated harmlessly out of bounds.

Northampton also led throughout most of the third set. They held a 15-14 advantage before the Hawks strung a couple of points together to grab the lead. The set was tied at 19 before a late run put Beca over the top.

In the fourth set, the score was 4-4 before the Hawks ran off 15 of the next 16 points, effectively settling the matter.

For the seniors, the contest marked their last match ever on Bob Nemeth Court. Tri-captain Lindsey Nemeth noted that it had crossed her mind.

“It did before the game,” Nemeth said. “But I wanted to forget about that while I was playing and focus on playing my best and having fun. I think I did a good job of that and the other girls did too.”

Alexa Barowski stated, “I thought, ‘I want to go out with a bang.’ This year our team is such a family. We all care about each other. We all love each other. It hasn’t really hit me yet, but it definitely will after our season. Just knowing how close everyone is, that’s what’s going to hurt the most.” Barowski will be continuing her academic and volleyball careers at Dickinson College.