Whitehall’s boys volleyball team hosted Liberty for its home opener and shut out the Hurricanes, 3-0, (25-10, 25-17, 25-12), on March 20.

“We bounced back nice from the loss at Emmaus,” said Whitehall coach George Cowitch. “I liked our effort, so I thought it was surgical at points.”

The Zephyrs lost their season opener to the Hornets, 3-1, (24-26, 13-25, 26-24, 13-25), on March 18.

In the match against Liberty, the Zephyrs breezed through the first set, but the Hurricanes tied the second set, 13-13, on four straight unforced Whitehall errors.

“We came in collectively and said we’ve got to stop doing this and put our foot on the gas,” said Whitehall libero Brandon Bird. “After the first set, we said they’re gonna come out and try and fight back. We’ve just gotta focus on us and not let up. We fixed it, but we’ve got to fix it sooner next time.”

Whitehall outside hitter Elias Kamhia’s kill put the Zephyrs three points ahead, and Kamhia’s tip at the net made the score 21-16.

In the third set, Whitehall jumped out to a 13-3 lead on a kill by Peter Tabarani.

“I thought Peter was much better tonight on the block and his swing,” said Cowitch. “He was OK on Tuesday, so I was happy with that. Brandon is one of the best liberos in the league, so he did his stuff.”

Bird had 21 digs, 2 aces; Kamhia had 11 kills, 3 digs; Jayden Haik added 9 kills; Kole Moyer tallied 29 assists, 4 digs, 2 aces; and Cole Richards had 5 kills, 2 blocks.

“We focused on us,” said Bird. “Last game, we didn’t do that, which I feel like was our downfall, mostly. We play a bunch of great teams all the time, so if we don’t focus on ourselves and all we worry about is what’s on the other side of the net, we’re never gonna be great. We have the best coaches in the league, I believe, and a great locker room setting, so if we come to work every day, we’re gonna be great.”