It's a similar record playing for Whitehall's volleyball team this spring compared to the tunes they went through a year ago.

And if the similarities are early struggles, head coach George Cowitch hopes that the Zephyrs will be playing their best melody at season's end.

Monday's loss to Emmaus in four games (25-20, 15-25, 17-25, 14-25) dropped Whitehall to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in Lehigh Valley Conference action, but the Zephyrs aren't hitting the panic button yet.

With their four league losses coming to Northampton, Easton, Parkland and Emmaus, teams that are a combined 25-3 and all sit atop the district and league standings, Cowitch knows there's plenty of room for optimism moving forward.

"Playing the top four teams in the league, we had leads or were even the whole match," Cowitch said. "We haven't been beaten, we are beating ourselves as this point. "We need to start believing in who we are, a really good volleyball team. Records don't always show the true talent that the team has. As a coaching staff, we believe these guys will break through."

With only two returning players with varsity experience this year, Cowitch knew there would be bumps in the road. Experience is always a key on the varsity level, especially with the speed of the game in volleyball.

"The biggest difference from a year ago was varsity experience the guys had entering the season," he said. "This year, only two guys have consistent varsity time logged in. We actually started the same way last year as this season. The lack of varsity time is hurting us at this point. It won't be an excuse toward the end."

Freshman Logan McGinley and Joey Maamari have been two of the stalwarts on the team so far.

McGinley has averaged eight kills a match over his last three contests and Maamari has been a force defensively. Tony Hanna and Logan Helfrich have provided a consistent presence, as Hanna is one of the best setters in the conference.

First-year varsity player, Mike Burkhardt, has done well at middle blocker.

With Dieruff (3-4) on the slate for Thursday, Cowitch knows it'll be a chance for his team to gather some momentum heading into the Easter break.

"There is something about these guys that makes you believe that the run is coming," he said. "We are way too athletic and technically sound to not make a run. It's what we do, year in and year out, it's just taking a little longer than expected, due to the lack of mental toughness. This game has a lot of ebb and flows, and once it clicks, we will be dangerous around playoff time."