We’re coming down to the final week of the volleyball regular season and Liberty and Freedom have both clinched district berths, while they get ready to square off against each other this Thursday.

Liberty (10-3) is looking to find some answers after losing to Emmaus (14-0) in a three-game sweep last week, that gives head coach Mike Zile plenty of things to work on heading toward the postseason.

“When we played Emmaus we had one of our best serving performances of the season and did a nice job with serve receive,” Zile said. “The match came down to hitting, blocking, and defense which is what determines high level matches.”

Freedom (9-7) lost their first encounter with the Hurricanes this season in four games, but have won six of their last seven to qualify for districts.

Now, they hope they can clinch an EPC tournament berth, but have a tough week with Emmaus and Liberty on deck this week.

The Pates were sixth in the conference as of this week and should hold on to the final conference playoff spot despite what happens with their results this week.

Liberty was fourth in the conference standings and should stay in that spot for next week’s league tournament when action gets underway on Tuesday. Semifinals are set for May 11 and finals will take place May 16.

“We’ve been gearing up for EPC’s with making sure we treat every match like a playoff match with our preparation,” said Zile. “We’ve got to have a more balanced attack across the net. Adam Mittl (OH) has been our top hitter. He has 270 kills between tournaments and regular season matches. Khalife Wadlington (MH) is second on the team with 106 kills. Elden Campbell (MH) is always a key hitter and blocker. Weston Greer (OPP) had 15 kills between 2 matches recently. Nathan Yelinko (OPP) hits the ball hard and is another key hitter. There’s been a committee type of approach with our OHs between seniors: Chastin Bullard & Joel Morgan, junior, Ethan Roan, and freshman, Frank Benedetto. We are starting to see players emerge and improve their hitting which will be important as we get into the home stretch and with playoffs approaching. All we can do is keep focusing on improving and being better the next time we see teams.”

Bethlehem Catholic (4-11) finishes off the regular season this week against Dieruff (7-8) and Southern Lehigh (11-2).