With Whitehall trailing 18-23, the girls volleyball team was in danger of being swept by Nazareth, but they rallied to win that game, demonstrating a resiliency that’s led to a winning record this season.

They were able to close the gap by getting strong net play from Kristin Spengler who had two kills and a tip shot during that stretch, while Alix Buskirk had an ace and a kill for the game winner.

“In that third set, they just decided that they wanted to keep this thing going a little longer,” said head coach George Cowitch.

They won that set 28-26, setting up a fourth game which Nazareth eventually won 23-25, giving them the match. With the loss the Zephyrs are now 6-5.

The Zephyrs were competitive throughout the match, losing the three games by a combined seven points. Cowitch strongly believes that his team is on par with the Blue Eagles, and this match was definitely within their grasp.

“We just made mistakes in the wrong spots,” said Cowitch.

He said that in the fourth set they weren’t aggressive enough and that helped lead to their demise.

“That’s something we can fix,” he said.

In the second set, the Zephyrs at times seemed indecisive when the ball was in the air after the initial dig. That led to some free balls instead of some sets that could have resulted in points. Cowitch said that boils down to communication, something his young team keeps working on as the season progresses.

“They understand that they have to do that if they want to continue playing, not just in the regular season, but heading into the postseason,” said Cowitch.

They definitely cleaned that up as the match wore on and started to set up plays at the net resultng in kills by Spengler, Alyson Peters, Caitlin Kier and Buskirk. Peters was also strong defensively, blocking a number of shots.

The Zephs were winning the first set by as many as five points in the early stages, but then the Blue Eagles began to close the gap, eventually tying it at 13-13. From there it see-sawed back and forth until two big digs by Nazareth’s Nat Wieczorek, one a diving punch dig, helped to spark the Eagles to a 26-24 victory.

All the sets were back and forth, with Whitehall getting strong service points from Amelia Ballard midway through the third set that paved the way for the comeback.

However, Nazareth always seemed to have answer for a Whitehall rally, and on Monday night it was Sam Wegener. Wegener hammered home some emphatic winners and provided the final kill for the Blue Eagles. She finished the game with 17 kills, 27 digs and three aces.

Still, Whitehall put themselves into position to win each of those games. It’s a good sign for a young team, said Cowitch.

“Even though we lost, we definitely moved in the right direction,” said Cowitch.

In their win against Brandywine Heights last week, Spengler led the way with 15 kills, 23 assists, 31 digs, five blocks and three aces. Olivia Ballard had 34 digs, while Amelia Ballard had 19 assists, 10 kills and 18 digs. Additionally, Buskirk had 10 kills, 10 digs and two aces.