For the second straight year, the Whitehall girls volleyball team went into the first day of the district playoffs needing to win two matches to advance.

And just like last season, they won their first match, this time against Pocono Mountain East, sweeping the Cardinals which set up a match versus longtime nemesis Parkland. Unfortunately, they faltered against the Trojans, losing 3-0 thereby ending their 2016 season on Parkland’s home court last Saturday.

With that quarterfinal loss in the 4A bracket, the Zephs finish their season at 11-11.

Head coach George Cowitch said that they played really well in their first match against the Cardinals, who had come into the game with an 11-9 record. The Zephyrs won 25-12, 25-16 and 25-7.

“We came out really well,” said Cowitch. “We played the way we expected to play.”

He said they were crisp on offense, allowing them to win in three sets.

Once they finished with the Cardinals, the Trojans were waiting for them as the No. 1 seed. Whitehall entered as No. 8. In the prior two meetings against the Trojans, the Zephyrs got swept. The Zephyrs couldn’t reverse that trend and lost 25-12, 25-16 and 25-19.

Despite the sweep, Cowitch said that his team gave the Trojans a spirited challenge.

“I thought we played them really well,” he said.

He said that while Parkland was making some errors, the Zephyrs couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities since they were making their own mistakes once that door was open.

“We just couldn’t take advantage of it,” said Cowitch.

While the loss marked the end of the season, Cowitch said that his young team got better as the year progressed. They have only one senior on the squad, and they were able to make it to the postseason despite having such a young team. However, that young team gained a lot of experience during their matches within the EPC.

“That’s only going to help us in the future,” said Cowitch.

Cowitch said that the roster has plenty of talent, and that they just need more experience, something they gained this year.