The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference might have just witnessed a shift in power across the top of the volleyball standings.

Over the previous two seasons, Parkland and Emmaus have usually been the top two teams. Parkland had not lost to a league opponent in 2015 or 2016. The Hornets’ only regular season losses to an EPC opponent over that time came against Parkland.

Both teams entered last week’s meeting once again as two of the premier EPC teams, both unbeaten on the season. But the tides have shifted Emmaus’ way, as the Hornets outlasted Parkland (25-20, 17-25, 25-16, 14-25, 15-8) last Tuesday on the Trojans’ home floor.

“The guys always look forward to playing Parkland; it’s a great rivalry,” Emmaus head coach Ken Dunkle said. “They are the only EPC team we have lost to in season in the last two years, so it was nice to get the win this year.”

The teams alternated victories through four sets, setting up a winner-take-all situation in the final game. And for the first time since 2014, Emmaus was on the winning side of this heated rivalry.

In that decisive fifth set, Emmaus jumped out to an early lead much like the opening game and rode that to a victory. Within the blink of an eye, the visitors raced in front 5-1 on one of Carson Landis’s 13 kills.

Parkland came within four points at 7-3, but Emmaus scored four of the next six points to keep the hosts at a distance. James Haag (team-high 16 kills) spiked one into the floor to help Emmaus double-up the Trojans at 10-5, and Noah Bacon (15 kills) blocked a Parkland shot at the net in the next point.

“Parkland also put in Ben and Logan Iacobelli for libero and defensive specialist,” Dunkle said. “They played really well and made some great digs, which not only kept the plays alive for Parkland, but also helped get the team and Parkland fans hyped.

“Garret Weigel also came up with some big swings for Parkland. I think by the fifth set, we had adjusted to our lineup changes and really started to click as a unit. Even more importantly, we were able to shrug off mistakes, like seven service errors in set five, and still pull out a 15-8 win.”

Getting off to a fast start certainly helped Emmaus’ confidence early, and then again late in the game to secure its first victory over Parkland in over two years.

“It’s always good to get out in front against a tough opponent, especially when you are playing in their house,” Dunkle said. “There were a lot of big momentum swings in the game. We were missing Matt Swanson, one of our starting middles, and our libero Brendan Dunkle. We put Mitch Shoemaker in last minute as libero with no real preparation, so I think that led to some of the inconsistency on our part.”

After Emmaus took the first set easily, 25-20, Parkland responded behind Weigel’s play at the net to tie the game at 1-1.

The Hornets regained momentum with a dominant showing in the third set, leading by as much as 17-9 during Haag’s serving spree. But the Trojans wouldn’t go away without a fight. Weigel once again shined brightest in that fourth set victory, which included leading a Trojan charge that blew open a 6-4 lead to 17-5 in a matter of minutes.

“I think the thing that has impressed me the most this year is that it truly is a team effort,” Dunkle said. “Everyone is contributing at a high level, and it seems to be different players that comes up big when we need it. In the Parkland match it was James Haag who did a little more to help push us to a win.

“Five of the starters have played club together for several years and have competed in club nationals the last two years. They finished 14th in the nation last year. That’s a great foundation to build off of.”

Cameron Parsons finished with 56 assists in the Hornets’ win, while Shoemaker (16) and Bacon (10) totaled 26 digs combined.

Emmaus followed the Parkland win with 3-0 victories over Bethlehem Catholic and Dieruff. The Hornets (10-0 overall; 10-0 EPC) host Easton Wednesday and travel to undefeated Whitehall (11-0, 10-0) Thursday in a game that could determine the top seed for the league playoffs.