The Whitehall boys volleyball team is setting up for a showdown with Emmaus later this week in what may be a battle of the unbeatens.

The Zephs swept visiting Northampton for their 11th win of the season. If they defeat Freedom on Wednesday, that will most likely set up a winner-take-all match for sole possession of first place in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. The Green Hornets must defeat Easton to hold up their end of the bargain.

The Zephs had to take care of business Monday night versus the Konkrete Kids. They won 25-15, 25-14, 25-11.

During the second set, they found themselves trailing early as the Kids quickly struck for a 6-2 lead. That was put to a halt once senior Joe Maamari stepped to the service line. They rode the arm of Maamari who reeled off 15 points to put them up 17-6 before the Kids earned a side out.

“Coach is always talking about consistency in practice, and serving is one of the most important things in the game,” said Maamari who finished with four aces against Northampton. “For me to do that, it really gives our team a boost.”

Head coach George Cowitch said it was an impressive run.

“I’ve never seen that since I’ve been here, and I’ve seen a lot of volleyball,” said Cowitch. “For Joey to get back at that line and run 15 straight points, that’s impressive. That takes a lot of focus to do something like that.”

Maamari, the team’s setter, said that his role is to seek out destroyers who want to deliver a kill.

“The first priority is to make sure all my hitters are in and want the ball,” said Maamari. “Wanting the ball is a big thing because if you don’t want that ball, as a setter - he’s like a quarterback who has a wide receiver who doesn’t want the ball - and if they don’t want the ball, you’re not going to set them.

“When you have a team and all your hitters want the ball, it really screws up the other team because they don’t know who to block or who to defend. And when you have a team like that, playing frantically, our hitters get a lot more confidence.”

Once that happens, everyone plays better.

Knowing how the defense is aligned is critical once they’re executing their offense, and that work begins at practice.

“It’s something that we work on in practice,” looking at the defense, feeling where the middle is, and we run our offense off that,” said Cowitch.

Cowitch said that Maamari does a really good job with that.

“He’s really a student of the game, watching film, and he’s really good at what he does,” said Cowitch.

Putting his teammates in optimum situations to succeed was something he worked on heading into the season.

“One of the main things I focused on this year was seeing my blockers and seeing who had the biggest block so I could either stay away from them or get them in one-on-one, depending on the pass or how the hitters are set up,” said Maamari.

Nicholas Herman also had a strong game, finishing with seven kills.

Two of those kills ended games as he rocketed two winners to close out the first two sets. Logan McGinley finished with 15 kills and 10 digs, while Ethan Parvel chipped in with seven kills.

With first place possibly on the line when they meet Emmaus this Friday, they’ll be ready for the challenge.

Cowitch said that they’re well coached, they have a roster of good volleyball players. He said the same holds true for his team.

“We’re going to put pressure on them and see how they do,” said Cowitch.

Maamari said that you put the records aside as desire will rule the day.

“Honestly, I think it comes down to whoever wants it more,” said Maamari.