Liberty knew they had a good volleyball team heading into this season and it’s carrying that into this year as they’re 6-1 so far.

Head coach Missy Lynn has seen improvement from a year ago, and hopes her team can push things even further heading into this week’s slate of contests against East Stroudsburg North and Allen.

“We knew, coming out of preseason, that we had a strong group of athletic girls and that we’d be able to compete with the top tier of our conference,” Lynn said. “We split with Emmaus in our first tournament of the season, and that gave the girls their first glimpse of our potential and the confidence to play against anyone in the league. We are definitely ready to surprise some people.”

Liberty swept Notre Dame-Green Pond, Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain East last week, but Lynn points to the team’s win in four games over Central Catholic during the first week of September as a turning point this season.

“The match against Central Catholic set the bar for us,” she said. “We had a lot of energy and confidence coming into that match. We knew if we could hang with them, knowing how strong they are year after year, that we could compete with pretty much everyone. Our goal is to play with that level of intensity and excitement regardless of the opponent.”

With confidence high, Liberty should stay right in the mix for the Steel Division race, along with Bethlehem Catholic (4-2).

“I think we’ve improved quite a bit from last year,” said Lynn. “We’ve always prided ourselves on our disciplined defense, and junior Sydney Wilson and freshman Lina Perugini have such instinctual abilities to read hitters and have no fear on defense, that they make every play exciting to watch. We also have a stronger offense.

“Senior Maddie Capuano has more confidence in herself and her hitters, so we’re having a lot of fun trying new things, particularly with our stronger middle hitters (junior Amanda Rachwal and sophomore Grace Mittl). We don’t take any matches for granted, but we’re holding ourselves to a higher standard than ever before. We’re in it to win it all.”

Becahi swept Pocono East and Eastburg North last week to put their win streak at four.

The Hawks take on Stroudsburg, Lansdale Catholic and Dieruff this week. Wednesday’s match with Lansdale Catholic is one that head coach Paul Abi-Daher knows his team will be challenged in.

After an 0-3 start to the season, Freedom won its last two matches, defeating Pleasant Valley and Eastburg South in sweeps.

The Pates hope to continue their momentum against Pocono Mountain West and Easton.