For the second time in as many weeks, the Emmaus High School girls volleyball team squared up against Parkland on the court, and for the second straight time, the Trojans got the better of the Green Hornets in the final result.

In the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season finale for both teams last Thursday night at Parkland High School, Emmaus fell in straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-21, 25-14.

“Parkland is the standard that teams in our conference and district want to play like,” said Emmaus head coach Jessica Attieh. “They are a difficult team to beat because they are talented and well coached. But I always tell the girls the more challenging matches bring out our strengths and our areas for improvement. The various areas that need improvement are addressed at practices with basic drills and eventually implemented into game play.”

The Green Hornets finished the regular season with a 14-5 overall record. Under Attieh, the first-year head coach, they accomplished two of their early goals in qualifying for the EPC and District 11 4A tournaments. Emmaus earned the seven seed in EPCs.

“At the beginning of the year in preseason we set our goals as a team,” Attieh said. “Even with a new coach, the girls wanted to continue the history of playing in the postseason and competing for championships. We were able to check off those boxes and I’m proud of the girls for working hard to accomplish some of their goals so far.”

Less than 48 hours after the season finished at Parkland, Emmaus was back on the court under the bright lights of the postseason. The Green Hornets were at the two seed in Liberty in the EPC quarterfinal round and found themselves behind 2-0 after losing the first sets, but battled back to win the next before dropping the fourth set and losing the match by scores of 19-25, 12-25, 25-22, 15-25.

“The postseason is a time that everything needs to come together,” said Attieh. “We had a slow start and were unable to get it together in time.”

Even with the loss, there is still more volleyball to be played for the Green Hornets. They will compete in districts, which begins next Tuesday.