Things weren’t going so well for the Whitehall Zephyrs when boys volleyball coach George Cowitch asked his team for just a little bit more as they trailed Parkland 2 sets to 1 on April 8 at Whitehall.

“I asked them at a timeout. I said, ‘Just get us to 5. I just want to see what we can do,’” Cowitch said. “It’s always nice if you can get there, and then you get to see what you can do.”

Parkland maintained a five to six point lead for half of the fourth set when Julian Saba’s ace for the Zephyrs tied the set, 17-17.

“We weren’t really playing defense like we usually do, and that’s a strong part of our game, and we started to do it after that ace,” said Cowitch. “That really turned things around. Big blocks up front and able to finish in (set) 4, and then get us to 5.”

Not only did the Zephyrs get to 5, they defeated the Trojans, 25-23, 21-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-10.

“It was fun. It was nice to see the guys fight back,” Cowitch said. “That’s big, considering we have guys out there so young, volleyball-wise, and not many sets in them. I’m happy for that. This just builds character for them moving forward. Got a little upset with the effort early on, and then to see them go and give that full effort that we always ask for, that was awesome.”

Cole Richards’ (19 kills, 19 digs, 3 blocks) kill to the back corner near the start of the fifth set put Whitehall ahead for good.

Peter Tabarani (3 kills, 5 blocks) added another point, Kole Moyer (45 assists, 2 kills, 18 digs) scored at the net, Tabarani and Omari Ratliff (5 kills, 2 blocks) had big blocks, Jayden Haik added a kill, and Elias Kamhia (19 kills, 12 digs) scored two consecutive points.

“I was really focused, and I knew how to play my role and how much they needed me at that point,” said Kamhia. “A lot of pressure, but when you focus in, you don’t really feel it too much. When your teammates really need someone, I get motivated for that, and I lock in and play my best.”

Kamhia scored Whitehall’s last two points in the Zephyrs’ fourth-set victory.

“I was feeling amazing. I was on fire, so I wanted to keep it going,” he said. “We had to keep it going, keep the momentum, and if you mess up, get the next play. We keep each other straight, and we always communicate. That’s what it takes to beat a good team like that. It’s been a really good season so far, and beating Parkland just puts us in a better place. We’re in a really good place right now.”

Throughout the match, Drew Sodl (15 digs) was strong in the back row, chasing down hard-to-reach balls, and libero Brandon Bird (17 digs) took the third touch often.

Sodl’s dig set up the winning point by Kamhia in the first set.

Set 2 was marked by seven consecutive ties until Parkland took the lead at 13-12.

Parkland maintained a three to four point lead in Set 3, and despite some service faults by the Trojans, Whitehall was unable to manufacture any offense.

“Maybe some matchup issues there,” said Cowitch. “Josh Nation (Parkland outside hitter) was really hurting us on the swings, and then we started getting touches on him at the end of four and five.”

Zephyr boys volleyball has a faithful following, and, as usual, fans were at Whitehall in full force, including the Zephyr pep band.

“I think it’s tough to play here because you feel like the fans are on top of you,” Cowitch said. “The band was an extra addition by Mike Yadush who runs the pep club/pep band, and it was really nice of them to show up and be here. We have a good atmosphere going on. It’s fun to be involved, and people want to be here.”