The Whitehall volleyball team’s winning streak was broken last week, so now they’ll look to begin a new one as they begin a series of divisional games this week.

The streak stood at six games when they traveled to Emmaus to play the Green Hornets last Thursday. Once inside that bandbox gymnasium, they lost the opening game 25-19, but battled back to win the second game, 25-20.

From that point, the Zephyrs couldn’t get over the hump, falling to the Hornets 25-20 and 25-18. The loss puts them at 9-3 on the year, placing them in fifth place in the Skyline Division of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

In those final two games, the Zephs were able to cut into deficits to eventually tie the game, but they were never able to take the lead. In game three, they were down 14-7, but battled back to tie the game at 19-19. However, the Green Hornets won the next point and then never relinquished the lead to capture the game, 25-20.

They had to play from behind in the final game as well, with the Hornets taking an early 7-3 lead. They were able to knot the score at 9-9, but once again that was as close as they got as Emmaus crept ahead the rest of the way for the victory.

Head coach George Cowitch knew it was going to be a challenge playing Emmaus on their home turf. He said they played them tough, but a myriad of mistakes sealed their fate.

“We just made too many errors in spots at times,” said Cowitch. “That’s something we can clean up.

“I like the way they competed. In the past we haven’t competed when we played Emmaus. So we were right there with them. And to come here and do that, that’s the best.”

Emmaus has swept the Zephs the last three seasons, twice in 2014 after the EPC realignment. Losing by only a handful of points over four games was a step in the right direction, said Cowitch.

“We were there with them, in the lead or tied with them,” said Cowitch. “We just made mental mistakes.”

Cowitch said that’s something they’ll continue to work on, calling it a “process thing” as it may take years for a program to be mentally there. However, he said the girls still fought and that’s what they’re looking for every time they step onto the court.

In this game, Emmaus was the team who got the breaks after sustained volleys. During the winning streak, Whitehall was the team getting those points. Still, they had a number of bright spots during those four games.

Kristin Spengler was once again assertive at the net. In the final two games, she had three kills and two big blocks. Emily Castro continued to be a demon from the service line, registering some aces, while Korin Koehler was once again solid from the back line.

Cowitch said that they’re still a playoff team, having achieved that nine-win threshold that assures them a spot in the district tournament no matter the outcome of their final six games. He said that was one of their goals and it’s something no one can take away from them.

This week they’ll look to get back on the winning track with games against Parkland, Allentown Central Catholic and Nazareth.