The Northampton girls volleyball team overcame a faltering first set to rally to knock off Nazareth 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-15 in an EPC Northampton Division contest last Thursday in Pete Scheider Gymnasium for the program’s biggest win in two seasons.

The K-Kids led 20-15 in the first set only to see the much taller Blue Eagles’ squad run off 6 straight points to change the momentum and go up 1-0 in the match.

However, the Kids shrugged off the disappointment and got back to playing their game.

Setter Addison Morgan described responding after the first set loss, “That game just goes out of my head immediately once it’s over and we focus on the next game and we focus on what need to do to improve and get up. I love games like these because they’re so intense and fun. It’s gets everyone riled up so that they’re playing the best they can.”

Nazareth led 9-7 early in the second set, but Northampton dominated the match from that point on and was never in any danger of losing any of the final 3 sets.

For head coach Mike Holihan, the match typified how his team is going to compete with the top schools. He explained, “That defense man. That’s the best defense I’ve watched one of my teams play, ever. You heard him (the Nazareth coach) say that they had 42 errors. Well, those 42 errors don’t happen if we’re not digging everything they send over the net. Our goal this year is to wear teams out. We don’t have the biggest, best hitters. We limit our errors. This is how we’re going to be successful.”

Sophomore Claire Luckenbach led the team with 11 kills and 5 aces. Morgan Chandler had 8 kills and Izzy Pecuch tallied 7. Addison Morgan had 23 assists and 19 digs. Lizzy Sheldon led the defense with 28 digs. Clare Erdman notched 25. Morgan recorded 19 and Quinn Micheli had 15.

One of the keys to the team’s success this year will undoubtedly be the return of Erdman. In 2023, she suffered an ankle injury that kept her sidelined for almost the entire campaign. She spoke about getting back on the court, “Coming back this year was quite the challenge, but it’s very fun. I love it. It’s felt good. I really haven’t hit since I hurt my foot because during club, they didn’t want me to risk getting hurt. Getting back to hitting and playing all around and being with my teammates on the court is the greatest thing ever.”