Head coach George Cowitch knew that the Trojans would present a challenge when the two teams were set to kick off the 2021 season. Their motivation included a loss to the Zephs in the 2019 district championship, combined with the fact that they haven’t been able to beat Whitehall for the last couple of years. The Trojans wound up halting that run, winning the match 3-1, handing the Zephyrs their first regular season loss since April 27, 2018 against Emmaus.

Cowitch said that Whitehall’s previous success against the Trojans probably played a role in Parkland’s preparation and determination. He said it was similar to the situation they found themselves in against Emmaus before getting the upper hand in 2019.

He said that they played a little tight in the beginning of the match, and finally settled in later on, but couldn’t come up with the victory. It’s still a relatively new starting group with only Hunter Pinkey back as a starter, and they’ll have to learn how to play through adversity as a group.

However, the Zephyrs showed how quickly they can bounce back, winning the next four matches, including a four-setter over nemesis Emmaus last week.

Those victories demonstrated that they have a resilient bunch that can rise to the occasion. The Parkland match laid the groundwork.

“I think we’re getting better at learning to deal with pressure in situations like that,” said Cowitch.

That was certainly the case against Emmaus who stretched the match to a fourth set. The Zephs dropped the second set after winning the first, but came back to post two consecutive wins to defeat the Green Hornets 25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-19.

Cowitch said that all of his players have been contributing, and in the match against the Hornets, Connor Fenstermaker was key, notching 14 kills and five blocks from the middle. Torrey Tyson added 11 kills, two blocks and 16 digs, while Hunter Pinkey registered eight kills and two blocks. Additionally, Devin Donatelli had eight kills, while Aiden Sommer had 14 digs. Setter Nick Rex played his part, finishing with 44 Assists.

It was a good team effort as they took the sting out of a team that’s been a thorn in their side for a number of years.

“We played really well,” Cowitch said.

Cowitch said he’s getting good production from his middle hitters as Fenstermaker and Pinkey have been stalwarts at the net. Tyson and Donatelli have been instrumental from their Outside Hitter and Opposite Hitter positions, respectively, as well. That also holds true for Matt Lisicky.

“We’re getting a lot of offense from a lot of our players, which is really good,” said Cowitch.

Last week also saw them defeat Nazareth, sweeping the match 25-16, 25-15, 25-16. In that win, Pinkey had 12 kills and two blocks. Lisicky finished with nine kills and nine digs, while Tyson had six kills, 10 digs and two aces. Additionally, Fenstermaker knocked down six kills while also adding three blocks. Rex finished with 34 assists, while Sommer had 14 digs.

Their other two victories came against Pocono Mountain West (25-3, 25-9, 25-8) and Pocono Mountain East, defeating the Cardinals 25-10, 25-13, 25-11.

Lisicky and Pinkey both combined for 12 kills in those matches, while Fenstermaker had 11 kills against the denizens from the north. Tyson had six aces and six kills during that stretch, while Rex compiled 47 assists over those two matches. Additionally, Ethan Ringenberger had five aces against PME.

Cowitch said that they’re still a work in progress and they’ll be going through some growing pains with this group. He said that they’ll have to fight through it, relying on senior leadership to help them navigate the ups and downs of a varsity season.

He’s looking for steady progress and that means improving statistically every rotation. That’s the mindset now as they head into another week of league action.