The Whitehall girls volleyball team endured some early season struggles before picking up their first two wins this past week for first-year head coach Cristal Fernandez.

Fernandez discussed the approach to fighting through the adversity, “The biggest thing is, all of us, coaching staff and the girls, had high expectations in the games we should have won or could have gone in our favor and they just didn’t. We couldn’t close the matches out. The key is that they know that we’re never giving up on them and vice versa. They know they will have our support as long as we’re getting the same effort back.”

A 5-set win over Allen last Thursday got the Zephyrs off the schneid and the team followed it up with a 4-set victory against East Stroudsburg South on Monday to improve to 2-8 at the halfway point of the regular season.

It took a dramatic comeback to claim the first set from the Cavaliers. Whitehall trailed 21-24 in the race to 25 points. They got the needed side-out and some critical serves from senior captain Alessia Gallardo to erase the deficit and claim a 25-24 lead. The teams went back-and-forth looking to build a two-point margin to win the set. The Zephs ultimately prevailed 29-27.

Gallardo admitted to feeling the pressure during the key sequence, “I was feeling so nervous. My coach was giving me spots and I was just hoping that I don’t mess up. I was glad I was able to push through and finish strong.”

Her serve also led the way to Whitehall’s 25-9 second set win. The Zephs held a 16-9 lead when Gallardo stepped up to serve and they ran off 9 straight points. “I was focusing on what spots to go to. I was dropping some shorts, I was dropping some deep. I was trying to figure out the angle and take advantage of the players on the other side if they didn’t look ready,” she commented.

South scored 7 of the last 8 points to win the third set 25-18 to extend the match. The Zephyrs refocused and cruised to a worry-free 25-10 victory in the fourth set to earn the W.

Kyra Miller paced a balanced offensive attack for Whitehall with 8 kills. Keona Spooner had 6. Allison Keck, Maggie Marinkovits, and Charlotte Bynoe all contributed 5. Setter Jenna Conrad dished out 30 assists.

Libero Alexis Barhoum led the way defensively with 20 digs. Gallardo had 14. LaSereon James and Conrad both chipped in with 11.

Tonight, the Zephyrs will host the 10-0 Pleasant Valley Bears. PV owns a win against Emmaus, so their record is not just from feasting on their EPC North foes. On Tuesday they head across the Lehigh River to take on rival Northampton.