The Whitehall Zephyrs were two sets down but had three to go to remain undefeated in the East Penn Conference and ultimately took down rival, Parkland, 3-2, (23-25, 17-25, 28-26, 25-17, 15-7) on Monday night at Whitehall.

The Trojans jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then saw the Zephyrs take the remaining sets for themselves.

“Energy in our favor. Energy on our side,” said Whitehall opposite hitter Devin Donatelli (18 kills, 5 digs). “It was just a good feeling that everyone was back and playing our game. If that stuff happens, we’ll definitely fight back.”

But even with home court advantage, a huge fan base in the stands, and an earlier win against Parkland this season, it took awhile for the Zephyrs to hit their stride.

“In the first set, we came out flat and they were playing better than us,” said Whitehall outside hitter Torrey Tyson (18 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces). “Because of that, we tried something new, and that also didn’t work out, so after that, we were like, if we lose one more set, obviously, we’re done here, so we need to flip that switch.”

Switch flipped.

“Set three, we made a scramble play, and we made a big play off of that, and that changed the whole complexion of the match,” said Whitehall coach George Cowitch. “First set, we made three errors, probably more than they did, and then we were just trading points for points. Second set, I changed the lineup to see if we could match up differently, but that didn’t work out. And then we went back to what we usually do.”

The Zephyrs kept the third set close, and a huge save by outside hitter Jack Kocher (11 kills, 21 digs, 3 blocks) put Whitehall within one point, later taking its first lead at 22-21 since the first point of the set. Kocher then scored the winning point for the Zephs.

“You need a pass to get a set to get a hit, and those final points, we played Whitehall volleyball, and no one can play with us when we do that,” Kocher said. “We were talking about staying where we were, not getting too high, and not getting too low.”

Whitehall took the early lead in the fourth set and held it, keeping the gap relatively wide as time went on, starting with a Tyson kill followed by a Tyson tip midway through the set.

“You have to pick and choose your shots,” he said. “If you keep railing the ball, if you hit them with the roll shot once in awhile, hopefully they keep their feet on the floor and watch it fall, but I don’t know, they were making some pretty good plays.”

Parkland middle hitter Luke Smith was a force for the Trojans’ attack along with outside hitter Matt Bauer and opposite hitter Lukas Dashukewich, but with so much energy expelled in the early sets, Parkland coach Scott Trumbauer could see the toll the match was taking on his Trojans in the later ones.

“We had opportunities, and in matches like this, it’s very intense, and you start to get a little tired, and we continued to go to the guys who were already really tired and didn’t spread things around and distribute things appropriately, so our load management on our outsides and our opposites was not very good in that situation,” Trumbauer said. “The first two sets, we passed. Our first contact was perfect. It put us in a situation where we could set across the net, all three options were available, we didn’t get predictable, and then the third, fourth, and fifth, it completely reversed on us.”

Watching the fourth set start to slip away from the Trojans, Trumbauer made a few substitutions, hoping the break for his starters would be enough to win the fifth set.

“The exhaustion... We went from smiles and cheers to straight faces and kind of blank stares and once that started to happen, I got concerned, and the scoreboard showed it too,” Trumbauer said. “Whatever team grabs that advantage, it’s hard to stop them, and their defense played amazing.”

Ironically, it was Parkland’s defense that was just as amazing during the first half of the match, with Kocher noting the Trojans’ “really big block up front,” but Whitehall middle hitter Tommy Buskirk (7 kills, 4 blocks) stepped up in the fifth set with a big block or two and a nice point at the net.

Said Tyson, “We weren’t trying to get our momentum back anymore; we were trying to keep it, which is always a way better thing, so it was a more comfortable situation for us, definitely.”

Aiden Sommer had 26 digs and one ace, and Ethan Ringenberger had 49 assists, 14 digs, and two aces, both for Whitehall.

“You have to be aggressive against a team like that,” said Coach Cowitch. “They have good enough hitters to hurt you, but we were able to pick up some hard-driven shots, so that was the difference.”

After the Zephyrs’ bench cleared at the final point, Whitehall fans swarmed the players on the court.

“We’re all buddies, so it’s a lot of fun when they’re here, and they’re practically on the court with us, the way they yell,” said Tyson.

With the post season right around the corner, chances are the two teams will meet again.

“I don’t know if I can take it,” Trumbauer smiled, “but I look forward to it if we get the opportunity. They’re a great team, and their rank and record is what it is for a reason, and we just have to prove we belong in that same tier.”