In their opening match against Neshaminy, Whitehall didn't see a mirror image of themselves, but it did get a good look at how to take its game to the next level.

The Zephyrs, who were the runners-up to Emmaus in the District 11 Class 4A final, and lost an opening-round state game last season, dropped a 25-15, 25-20,and 25-23 decision to Neshaminy, a team considered this spring to be among the top-five programs in the state.

Late last week, Whitehall dropped its home opener to Northampton, 25-15, 20-25, 25-21, and 27-25.

"We can still take more positives than negatives against a team like that," said head coach George Cowitch about the Neshaminy match. "They are among the best programs in the state and our tallest guy (6-3) is just bigger than their smallest guy (6-2).

"A match like that one (Neshaminy) can definitely help us. When we see a team like this, it is a reminder for us on where we want to be. They were the real deal.

"But we do have a good group coming back and we will be back in the hunt again. We knew Northampton would be a tough match."

Even though Whitehall lost eight seniors from last year's squad, it will return five seniors back in the fold.

Senior setter Tony Hanna, who was a conference choice last season, again is back to anchor the squad.

He's joined by fellow seniors Tom Harrison, Logan Helfrich, Tony Sankari, and Hunter White. Hanna had 41 assists against Northampton, while Harrison led the way with 16 kills and teammates Helfrich (14 kills) and junior Mike Burkhardt had eight kills.

The Zephyrs will rely on their underclassmen to lead the way back to the postseason.

"We'll look to our seniors to lead the way," noted Cowitch. "We lost some key people from last year, but we feel we have some solid seniors back who can lead us. This will be a club that may start slower than some of the other ones in the recent past."

Cowitch will also look to a cast of under classmen to help his club mature along the way. Freshmen Logan McGinley and Joey Maamari already have made some key contributions along the way.

If the Zephyrs can find the right combination of seasoned and maturing players, it is likely they will again be a factor in the Lehigh Valley Conference race this spring.

"We'll wait and see what happens," said Cowitch. "I'm confident we have had a solid season."

Whitehall got back to its winning ways on Tuesday night with a sweep of Nazareth 25-19, 25-13, 25-19.

Logan Helfrich had 10 kills and Tony Hanna had six kills and 17 assists.