It did not end the way they wanted it to, but for the second time in a matter of two weeks, the Emmaus High School girls volleyball team hung with undefeated Parkland in a closely contested match.

The Trojans won in straight sets for the second straight time. The scores from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference match at Emmaus last Thursday night were 25-15, 25-16, 25-11.

“I am proud of the team for the fight and the hustle they put out on the court,” said head coach Brianne Giangiobbe. “This three-set match felt like a five-set match with the competition on both sides. The rallies were back and forth, momentum flipped multiple times within the gym. The level of play from both teams was just really exciting to watch.”

The Green Hornets finished the regular season with a 16-2 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the EPC, with the only two defeats coming at the hands of the Trojans, who are 17-0 and 16-0. But knowing the talent of these two teams, there is a good chance they will meet for a third, and maybe fourth time this year in the EPC and District 11 tournaments in the coming weeks. Giangiobbe feels that her team will be ready next time.

“The girls are ready for a rematch and think we can get them the third time around,” Giangiobbe said. “They left with their heads high. I’m proud of the level of volleyball they played with and the girls are ready to get better and learn from this in the upcoming practices and matches.”

Emmaus honored its six seniors before the match, including Mia Pickering, Summer Lorincz, Ava Holden, Kassidy Hallman, Lily Hulbert and Jenna McGinnis.

Emmaus played closely with Parkland through the first two sets until the Trojans pulled away late each time. The Green Hornets just ran out of gas in the third set.

Abby Schweitzer led the attack with nine kills and added one block and one dig. Holden tallied seven kills. Pickering finished with four kills and 11 digs. Hallman contributed 18 assists and five digs.

Emmaus earned the three seed in the EPC Tournament and defeated the sixth seed Northampton Saturday. The Green Hornets play Freedom in the semifinals with the championship set for Thursday. The other semifinal is Parkland and Liberty.