The Zephyr girls volleyball season ended with the Trojans providing the exodus in the opening round of districts.

Granted, it was a daunting task facing undefeated Parkland High School to kick off the AAA tourney, but the Zephyrs were very familiar with their Lehigh Valley Conference foes, and they have been steadily improving all year.

To underscore that point, the only Lehigh Valley Conference team who was able to take a game from them all year was Emmaus High School. And it was also Emmaus who upset the Trojans in the quarterfinals this year, toppling the team ranked second in the state.

Head coach Rob Gardner's team delivered on their preseason quest to qualify for the district tournament, and now they were ready to see if they could shock the world. However, the Trojans proved to have too much firepower, winning in three straight, 25-7, 25-13, 25-22.

Still, the young Zephyrs gave the Trojans a battle, but Parkland can hurt an opponent with a number of players who can put the ball down consistently.

"Parkland has a great team, they execute well, and have a good offense," said Gardner. "We played well, but could not overcome their powerful hitting. In the third game we had a few great blocks from our front row player, Cristal Fernandez, and Liz Lynch started hitting the ball really well."

Gardner said that their offense fed off their defense in that final game, allowing them to reel off a number of points.

The blocking helps our back-row, letting them dig a few balls, and we put together a scoring run.

Senior Olivia Bobyak led the way for the Zephs in the kill department, followed by Lynch.

While the loss marked the end of their season, Gardner was pleased with his team's ability to make the postseason. After missing last year's tournament, the team bounced back and made a strong run to qualify for districts.

"I am proud of the team being district qualifiers," said Gardner. "They worked hard to get there and they deserve to be recognized for their efforts."

They had a number of players who made a significant contribution including Madison Scarfaro, Rebecca Lutterschmidt, Tanesia Rehrig, Korin Koehler, Anna Gallina and Autumn Puello.

With the experience they gained this year, Gardner expects them to be even better next season.