The Emmaus High School girls volleyball team showed a lot of grit in its most recent match.

In two matches against rival Parkland during the regular season, the Hornets were swept 3-0 both times.

But in the District 11 4A semifinal round against the second-seeded Trojans, third-seeded Emmaus played with a lot of heart and intensity in a five-set thriller, falling to Parkland 3-2 by scores of 25-19, 25-18, 16-25, 23-25 and 15-12 last Tuesday night at Catasauqua High School.

Even in the two defeats in the opening two sets, the Hornets were always in it and actually held leads.

Emmaus jumped out to an 8-6 lead in the first set with a kill by Kylie Heffner and an ace from Alyssa Heffner. Parkland, however, scored the next six points and went out in front by as many as seven, while Emmaus could not get closer than two the rest of the way.

The Hornets went ahead 12-10 in the second set, but the Trojans tied the score and then never trailed for the remainder.

But the Hornets weren’t going to be swept for a third straight match and responded in a positive way.

Emmaus jumped out to an 18-11 lead in the third set after a block by Kylie Heffner and Rosalia Landino and got themselves in the win column.

The Hornets kept the momentum rolling into the fourth set in a back-and-forth affair. They pulled away a little bit late, taking a 23-19 advantage before Cirrae Cuffy sent home a kill to force the deciding fifth set.

Parkland led from start to finish in the fifth and final set.

Emmaus finished the season with a 14-7 overall record. First-year head coach Jessica Olang will bring back a majority of the roster for next season. Libero Lauren Horvath is the lone graduating senior from this year’s team.