Could Liberty be the team to challenge Parkland in District 11 this season?

That will be a tough task for anyone trying to knock off the defending state champions, but the Hurricanes certainly have plenty of ammo at their disposal as they march into this season.

Coming off a 12-6 campaign from last season, which saw them reach the East Penn Conference semifinals and district quarterfinals, head coach Neiad Ammary hopes this can be a year where his team goes from good to great.

“Overall, we face the formidable challenge of going from good to great,” he said. “In order to be great, we’ll need to improve the consistency of our serving, and we’ll need to manage our emotions in the face of adversity.”

The ’Canes return five of seven starters from last season including Logan Priestas - outside hitter (1st Team EPC All-Star), Brett Bosak - middle hitter (1st Team EPC All-Star), Mike Silvestri - middle hitter, Jake Gallagher - setter and Grady Hackett - outside hitter, alongside newcomer Samwel Omwega - right side hitter.

The experience amongst this group gives Liberty plenty of veterans and flexibility this spring.

“We lost Ryan McGuire (OH) and libero Luke Alexy from last year,” said Ammary. “Samwel Omwega has stepped up to fill McGuire’s old spot and has done a tremendous job this off-season. We trained our middles, Brett Bosak and Mike Silvestri, to be complete players who can play both front and back row, so that means we may not really need a libero this year. We’ll probably be the only team in the league that doesn’t have a libero and lets its middles play all the way around the rotations.”

Liberty (3-0) started their season off with three straight wins last week over Bethlehem Catholic, Southern Lehigh and Easton and take on Freedom and Whitehall this week.

So far things have gone according to plan, but Ammary knows it’s a long season and that his team will continually need to improve.

“We have balanced ball control and athleticism at every position, which will enable us to be a very dynamic team,” he said. “Having six complete players on the court who are all interchangeable with one another will make us tough to beat.

“Perhaps more importantly, we have a veteran group with five seniors in the starting lineup. They have worked hard and gained valuable experience over the course of four years. That hopefully result in consistent play and leadership in key moments throughout the season.”