After a 2-week layoff following EPCs, the Northampton boys volleyball team took to the court in a District XI quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday against Emmaus. The Hornets played like the team that went 15-1 in the regular season this year, winning in straight sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.

In the first set, the K-Kids battled back from an 11-16 deficit by winning 4 straight points, keyed by several stout blocks from their front line. The next 15 minutes of real time made the difference in the first 2 sets.

Emmaus closed out the first frame on a 9-3 scoring differential and started the next by winning 8 of the first 10 points. Over that stretch across sets, the Hornets had a combined 17-5 advantage. During the other 64 points, the K-Kids only trailed by a 33-31 margin.

The third set was tied 12-12 near the midpoint of the final set before Emmaus went on a 10-3 run that provided the difference in the set.

The Hornets were just more effective getting to their offense throughout the match. They posted 37 team kills to a 21 total for the K-Kids.

Despite the outcome, head coach Sue Arndt was pleased with the effort and camaraderie displayed by her squad.

“I knew going into today that they were going to give it everything they had, whatever the outcome. And that’s exactly what they did. We had some sticky moments but they responded. I was so proud of them because they brought it together. They just kept coming back to each other, giving each high-fives and slaps on the back. Nobody quit playing,” she stated proudly.

For the match, Landon Nickischer led the team with 7 kills, giving him 729 in his career, a Northampton record. For the season, he had 389 kills, which is the all-time season mark at NHS.

Logan Berger and Blake Youwakim both had 4 kills. Caden Dempsey had 14 assists. Senior co-captain Brad Chamberlain led the team with 10 digs. Berger had 8 and Nickischer had 6.

The theme of the season for this team was redemption. They rebounded from an injury-riddled 4-14 2023 season, to make both EPCs and districts.

The catalyst for the turnaround was the physical health and change of attitude of Nickischer.

“I wasn’t going to play this year. I decided to play two days before tryouts. From the second I decided to play, I just wanted to go all-out my senior year. I just wanted to be healthy and play and have fun and that’s what I’ve done. I don’t leave with any regrets tonight,” he said.

Arndt spoke about her senior outside hitter, “He came on board and restored relationships. He got the rest of the team to trust him enough to be a captain and to be a leader. To see the growth in him and have it spread to the rest of the team and make them see how real it was. There was a brotherhood that developed because of that and that’s the biggest takeaway from this year.”