The Whitehall girls volleyball team won it’s last two matches to earn a spot in the district tournament.

The Zephyrs beat Saucon Valley on Friday and Nazareth Monday to improve to 10-8.

The win over Saucon Valley was a three-game sweep on their home court, but it wasn’t easy. In the first two sets Whitehall fell behind the Panthers, needing late rallies in both games to pull out the wins.

In the first game it was a sprawling dig by Chloe Levan which gave the team a spark. The Zephyrs won that point to take an 18-17 lead. From that point, they allowed just three more points to the Panthers, riding the strong arms of Alyson Peters and Caitlin Kier who each had kills down the stretch. They won the set 25-20.

In the second game, Whitehall was down as many as five points midway through the set, and Cowitch said that he was considering calling a time out.

“I didn’t,” he said. “I just let them fight through it because that’s what you’ve got to do this time of the year.”

They fought through it with the help of Amelia Ballard’s effective serving. She got the Zephyrs back on track and they cut into the deficit. A Kristin Spengler kill gave Whitehall the lead at 18-17 and after see-sawing back and forth a bit, the game was finally decided when Peters scored the winning point with a block at the net.

Cowitch said that during the second set the Zephyrs net play was better and that helped them get over the hump.

The second game also saw the emergence of Kristin Spengler’s effective tip shot. Some of her overhand spikes were getting blocked, so she began to devise other ways to score. Spengler said it’s about surveying the floor as she prepares to hit.

“I saw the open spots on the floor, especially in the center of the court, so I just decided to take advantage of it,” said Spengler. “Right before the ball’s set I quickly look on the court and I see the spots and I go from there.”

The southpaw finished the game with 11 kills and 14 digs.

In the final set, the Zephs stayed in control for much of the contest, Amelia Ballard had a good service run again, registering two of her three aces in that set. The game’s final point came on a tip shot from Meriam Deeb as they won 25-18.

The Zephyrs got excellent play from a number of players. Alix Buskirk had six kills, while Deeb registered seven. In addition to her aces, Amelia Ballard had 20 assists, while Levan had 21 digs and Peters had four blocks.

The Zephyrs won their match against Nazareth, sweeping the Blue Eagles 29-27, 25-22, 25-21. With the win, they qualify for the district tournament.

They have games against Emmaus and Parkland remaining.

With the postseason approaching, Spengler said there is one primary key to success. It was something the Zephs did against Saucon Valley, and they want to ride that same mindset heading into the end of the season.

“We’re trying to keep the ball off the ground,” said Spengler. “We’re obviously trying to make districts, so we’re trying our best and we’ve all come to the conclusion that we can’t let the ball drop.”