All things must come to an end at some point.

That’s what happened with the string of District 11 titles for the Parkland High School girls volleyball team last week. Top seeded Liberty, who had ended runner-up in districts the last two seasons to Parkland, finally got the better of them and dispatched of the second-seeded Trojans in five sets last Thursday night at Catasauqua High School.

Scores from the District 11 4A championship match were 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 19-25 and 17-15. It is the first district gold for the program in 22 seasons.

“What a run for this program, and these girls had a part in it,” said Parkland head coach Mike Krause. “I’m proud of the success they’ve had and the teams before them. But credit to Liberty. They were right there last year and really played hard. They deserved this one.”

Liberty (18-3 overall) opened a 19-13 lead in the opening set, but Ava Brunnabend recorded an ace to cut the deficit to 24-23, but the Hurricanes held on to get on the scoreboard first. The Hurricanes then took a 24-19 advantage in the second set, but had to hold on late and prevent a Parkland (16-7) rally to pull within one set of the win.

The Trojans responded with back-to-back set wins, however, to force the deciding fifth set. In a back-and-forth set that featured nine ties, Parkland found itself one point away from its 11th straight crown as Sarah Furey had a kill and senior middle hitter Genda Avdijaj added a block to give the Trojans a 14-13 advantage.

A double touch and a hitting error, however, pushed Liberty ahead 15-14. Malena Sabol put the match into championship point with a kill. She then sealed the deal with a massive block.

“We just seemed to not be playing loose like we normally do,” Krause said. “It was a big match in front of a big crowd, so there may have been some nerves. We’re excited that we get to continue our season together though and look forward to making a run at states.”

Parkland opened state tournament play Tuesday evening with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-16) win over District 4 champ Williamsport and will take on District 1’s fifth-place team Spring-Ford in Saturday’s quarterfinal round.