The Parkland High School girls volleyball team had another successful season during the 2023 campaign. The Trojans won both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 4A championships and won two state tournament games.

Parkland had its season come to an end one match shy of the title match, falling to Unionville last Tuesday night.

“It was a season of growth,” said Trojan head coach Mike Krause. “We had to redevelop our offense and serve receive. There were many positions with limited experience. The team had to work hard in the weight room to improve physically. They needed to develop their technical skills to have the ability to compete against the height and power teams hit the ball in post season play. They had to understand how to practice in preparation for an opponent. Then they needed to learn how to make adjustments and apply them in live play.

“I think overall they really developed in all facets mentioned above.”

The Longhorns gave the Trojans (24-1 overall) their first loss of the season.

“Unionville’s strength was their aggressive serving and the way they defended our attacks and how the placed their offensive attacks against our defense,” Krause said. “They made critical plays at critical times. They had the close plays work out in their favor and we didn’t.

“I feel we made them play the best they possibly could. Upon exiting the gym after the match, a Unionville parent commented that is the best Unionville played all season long. I credit our team for challenging their opponent to be the best they could be, and we were so close to still pulling out the win.”

Parkland will graduate seven seniors including Ava Best, Meghan Haines, Cat Neagle, Alli Reimer, Hailey Schimmer, Madison Siggins and Maggie Smith.

“This senior group was tremendous in how they led the team,” said Krause. “They looked out for the younger players. They helped the younger players develop into very competitive, resilient and tough volleyball players. They were excellent role models in the gym and the weight room. They demonstrated how to be resilient in the face of adversity. They also showed how to have fun while competing to be the best they could be. They took on all challenges and showed how to take risks in develop a winning approach during competition.”

The season this year was special due because of a lot of unknowns and inexperienced players.

“Coming into the season, we did not know how competitive we were going to be,” Krause said. “We needed a lot of work to orchestrate this group into a respectable and competitive team. We played in two tournaments early in the season. We showed some real positive areas we felt could help become strengths of this team. We also saw areas we really were at a disadvantage against other opponents in our league, district and the state.”