The District 11 3A volleyball tournament is set to kick off Thursday and Friday with first-round action with Whitehall and Delaware Valley playing in Thursday's only opening match up of the tournament.

In the top half of the district bracket, Parkland earned the top-seed and a bye after defeating Emmaus in Monday's LVC semis as well. The Trojans get the winner of the four-five matchup between Emmaus and Northampton, which will be played Friday night at Emmaus.

"We should go into every match thinking and feeling like we're the better team," said Parkland head coach Scott Trumbauer. "If we bring our A-game and have that confidence on the court, the results will pay off."

Emmaus won last year's district championship, but Parkland enters as the clear favorite to grab that mantle again.

Whitehall grabbed the sixth-seed and travel to third-seeded Delaware Valley tonight.

Head coach George Cowitch has to be happy with where his team is seeded in the tournament, despite having to travel for Thursday's tilt, as Parkland (1), Emmaus (4) and Northampton (5) are all the hottest teams in the district, as well as being on the opposite side of the bracket.

"The reports that I got about Del Val is that they're an average team, even though their record is 10-2," Cowitch said about tonight's match. "I still think that the travel may be part of a distraction for us, but besides that, I feel that we are where we want to be when it comes to playing. Its a great draw for us in the district tournament, maybe the first thing that has gone right for us this season. I feel that if we give a full team effort, we will be tough to beat in the playoffs. We have made it a priority at this point to be focused and work on the little things so the big things come easier."

The other two teams paired in Whitehall's bracket are second-seeded Liberty and seventh-seeded Freedom. The Hurricanes lost in four games to Bethlehem Catholic Monday night in the LVC semifinals. The Hurricanes have lost their last two matches to Becahi this season and also lost to Northampton a few weeks back in their latest tangles with the districts top teams.

Whitehall lost to Liberty in four games early this season, but hope they can get past Del Val first, enroute to next weeks semifinals.

Semifinals take place on May 21 at Whitehall with 5:30 and 7 p.m. starts scheduled for both matches. The district championship will take place on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. at Whitehall as well.