It was just what the doctor ordered, or in this case, what head coach George Cowitch was hoping for when Whitehall took on Emmaus Tuesday night.

The Zephyrs earned their most vital win of the season in a five game triumph over the Hornets25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 30-32, 15-8.

Nick Kuti had 25 kills for the Zephyrs, while Tony Hanna had an astounding 46 assists. Brandon Yazji chipped in 18 digs, as Whitehall (4-4, 4-2) won their second straight match after a two-game skid with losses to Parkland and Liberty.

It marked the first loss of the season for Emmaus (6-1, 4-1) and signified a major confidence boost for Whitehall.

"That win is huge in the win column as well for us mentally as we move on with the season," said head coach George Cowitch. "We were looking for momentum and this is definitely what we needed right now.

"We fought harder than we have so far, especially in game five to win 15-8. I attribute that to our guys willingness to push themselves at practice and with conditioning, as was evident in game five."

Prior to Tuesday's result, Cowitch knew that expectations weren't being met for a program that has traditionally found themselves in the title hunts of the Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 3A titles.

"So far this season we have not met the expectations that we have set out early on," said Cowitch. "The slow start can be attributed to poor hitting at this point. We don't have enough guys putting the ball down consistently, but our defense has been great for us at this point. We definitely have struggled more than I have envisioned early on, but its early. We as a coaching staff have made adjustments to maximize our team."

Having the pendulum swing in Whitehall's favor against one of two previously unbeaten teams certainly bolsters the Zephyrs chances of gaining some legs to make a run in the second half of the season.

With a tough schedule up front to start the season, tempered by frustrating defeats to Parkland and Liberty, two teams that Whitehall maintained leads on in their opening sets, Tuesday's win was finally a coming together for the Zephyrs in 2013.

"We needed to beat Emmaus," Cowitch said. "Our guys need to simply believe in themselves, and understand they are a quality team in the LVC."