JOHNSTOWN – Parkland and Hempfield are two prestigious volleyball programs that are accustomed to playing under the spotlight on the big stage.

The Trojans were ranked first in the state headed into the PIAA Class AAA championship match with a record of 27-0.

On the other hand, the Black Knights have made the championship match for an impressive fifth consecutive season, and were victorious in two straight.

After Hempfield took the opening game by a 25-21 margin, it seemed that perhaps the Black Knights were well on their way to a third consecutive title.

However, the Trojans reeled off the next three consecutive games on their way to earning the class AAA state title, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-10.

"We felt that if we could make some adjustments, and if they could collectively get together and realize what they could do, we could be successful," said Parkland head coach Mike Krause. "A lot of the points that they scored in the first game, we helped them with. We gave them a lot of points. We tried to control our serves and get a little more consistent when we attacked."

Despite the loss, Hempfield head coach Andrew Olree had a positive outlook on the Kinghts' 2014 season.

"This ride was awesome," he said. "I'm very privileged to be apart of this time; these girls have nothing to be upset about. In the beginning, our passing and our offense were clicking fairly well. They just got the better of us tonight. We got down on ourselves a few times and you can't do that against a team like Parkland. This group of girls is really fun. They're energy and dedication is definitely impressive."

The Trojans' turning point in the match was a string of three consecutive blocks from Sam Webber and Siena Salvaggio.

"We work the block a lot," said Krause. "We have a lot of young guys on the coaching staff that are basketball players who hit against our girls in practice. They hit them higher, which encourages the girls to reach higher and that really has helped the girls a lot."

Salvaggio led the way for the Trojans with 15 kills, Brooke Robertson had a dozen, and Kristin Krause set her teammates up all match long with 38 assists.

A bit of history was made, as 2014 marks the first time that a District 11 representative played for the state title in each classification as Bethlehem Catholic won the Class AA title and Marian Catholic, which is in Schuykill County, lost in the Class A championship.

"It was a complete team effort, from the coaches to the players, it was a unified group," said Mike Krause.