It was a familiar atmosphere last Wednesday night at Easton Area Middle School.

For the third consecutive year, the two teams battling for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title, were the top two teams in the league all year. And once again, top seeded Parkland got the better of second seed Emmaus in three games (25-15, 25-20, 25-18).

It was the second time this season that the Green Hornets (15-2 overall) were swept by the Trojans (17-1 overall) as the defending state champs achieved the first of three primary goals for this season.

“[Beating Emmaus] never gets old,” said head coach Scott Trumbauer. “Our team was really excited and ready to go for this match, and as a coach you want to see that excitement. Anytime you can beat a good team like Emmaus, then put gold medals around your neck, it’s a great day.”

The Trojans forced several Emmaus errors early in the first set, but the Green Hornets stayed within striking distance. Backed by a solid service game from Bryce Galloway and a pair of Andrew Hillman kills, Parkland went on a 13-5 run to close out the set.

“My serve was on, and it found the court tonight,” Galloway said. “There’s always a lot of energy when we play Emmaus. It’s the match we always circle on the schedule. It was a big game, just like all of them are. Everyone showed up and played to their abilities, and we were able to pull it out.”

Senior Trevor McLean had four of his eight kills in the second set to keep Emmaus alive. But the Trojans’ front line helped them pull away from a close game.

In game three, the Green Hornets played well early on, and actually led at times. But once the Trojans pulled ahead, they made sure that they would not be threatened.

“We will enjoy the EPC title, but it’s back to work tomorrow,” said Trumbauer.

The Trojans took down the Dieruff in the District 11 Class 3A quarterfinals and will face Whitehall in the semifinals Tuesday night with the district title match slated for Thursday.

Kyle Stout and Jack Dreisbach were named EPC First-Team All-Stars. Hillman was named the MVP of the league.