After going through the EPC West ringer of Emmaus, Central, and Parkland in a 5-day span, the Northampton girls volleyball team welcomed a winless East Stroudsburg South squad to Pete Schneider Gymnasium on Saturday.

While the 25-6, 25-7, 25-7 drubbing lacked compelling drama, it did secure a District XI 4A playoff berth for the team by virtue of achieving at least a .500 record in conference games.

Long rallies were in short supply as the K-Kids racked up 25 aces over the course of the three sets. Ten of the Cavaliers’ 20 total points were scored on Northampton service errors.

Molly Hughes dished out 23 assists, had 6 kills, and 5 aces.

Payton Reuber led the team with 9 kills. Naomi Nebiyou had 7 and Molly Zweifel had 5.

Mitzy Orlic served up a team-high 7 aces.

Libero Morgan Hughes had 10 digs to pace the defensive stats.

Morgan was finally returning to the lineup after suffering a concussion in a match two weeks ago. The junior captain pronounced herself fit to play.

“I’m fully recovered,” she said. “Hopefully I can remain healthy for the rest of our season. Going into districts hopefully we start going on a run and beat the big teams like Parkland, Freedom, and Emmaus.”

Head coach Mike Holihan described Hughes’ impact.

“Morgan is such a big part of my defense and the way the team moves. It one of those things. With her gone it was very hard to make up that position. I’m glad she’s back.”

The K-Kids close out their regular reason tonight at Whitehall. Northampton won the first meeting with the Zephyrs two weeks ago in 4 sets. A victory would put the Kids’ overall record at 11-7 with a 10-6 mark in the EPC.

For district playoff purposes, the team is looking at a likely 6 seed and quarterfinal matchup at either Emmaus or Freedom on Thursday, October 28.

The EPC tournament picture is cloudier. A number of teams might finish at 10-6 in conference play with not enough spots for all of them in the 8-team field resulting in the qualification and seeding going to tiebreakers. The bracket and seeding will be released on Friday. If the K-Kids make it into the field, they would play on the road on Saturday.