You can never count out a champion until the final whistle, or in this case the final point. Although it did not lose a game in the district championship match, the Parkland girls volleyball team was challenged by an upbeat Nazareth squad that jumped up and down and celebrated each and every point.

But in the end, the top seeded Trojans got the better of the Blue Eagles by scores of 25-17, 25-17, and 25-20 to win the District 11 Class AAA title for the fifth time in six years.

Even when they weren’t at their best, the Trojans found a way to win.

“It’s just a dream come true, especially as a senior,” said Siena Salvaggio. “We have more games to play together.”

“This is definitely rewarding especially knowing how hard Nazareth played,” said head coach Mike Krause. “They were loud, which caused our kids to get a little rattled. We knew they would bring it. We got back to our game once we settled in and stayed consistent.”

Like most of the year, the Trojans were led by their offensive attackers at the net. Seniors Erika Foose (9 kills), and Salvaggio (15 kills), along with juniors Sam Graver (7 kills) and Morgan Sherwin (5 kills), soared above the net to slam home points at key parts in each game. And defensively, they got up to block back any potential hard hit balls.

“In the beginning we were a little jittery and just had to keep our composure,” said Salvaggio. “We knew what we had to do and we got it done.”

Fellow seniors Avery Perosa and Kristin Krause also stepped up defensively, combining for 29 digs.

Nazareth didn’t go down without a fight, however.

In game one the Eagles led 12-9 before Parkland made its run to tie the game at 12 and then take the lead for good at 14-13. In game three, just when the Trojans were looking to close out the match up 23-15, the Blue Eagles closed the gap to 23-20 just before the next point going to Parkland.

“Nazareth’s an amazing team,” said Salvaggio. “They put everything out there that they had tonight. They were very competitive and played very well together. We had to really fight tonight to get the win.”