The Northampton High School boys volleyball team hosted their first ever Volley for Valor night before facing off against rival Emmaus on Wednesday, May 3.

The Bob Nemeth Court inside Pete Schneider gym held a packed house to honor veterans of the past, present, and future.

The event showcased the military recruiters that work with Northampton youth, the Northampton High School enlistees, family members of both Northampton and Emmaus volleyball players whom served in the armed forces, as well as Paws of Honor; a program that dedicates itself to training rescue dogs to become service dogs for veterans whom suffer from PTSD.

A program that is essentially helping two noble causes at once.

“This event was fantastic,” exclaimed Northampton coach and veteran Dave Faust. “The booster club did a great job putting this together for a well-deserved cause. It was an awesome showing of honor and respect.”

Members of the Northampton boys volleyball team spoke on the topic of PTSD and how it affects veterans nationwide while honoring those in attendance.

Cellist Spencer Gerhard and singer Eileen Gerhard performed the national anthem live, and a 22-remembrance chime was preformed to honor the 22 lives taken from PTSD each day.

After the ceremony, the game action began which saw the Green Hornets take the game handily with a match score of 3-0 to maintain their perfect seasonal record at 13-0.

The most action was seen in the first set as both teams kept the match interesting, scoring point after point. Emmaus began to break away with a score of 21-15. The Kids rallied to come within three with a score of 21-18 but the deficit proved to be too much as Emmaus won the first set 25-18. The second set saw Northampton begin to dwindle as Emmaus jumped to an early lead of 11-3. The obstacle proved to be too much as the Hornets won the set 25-11.

Basket raffles and 50-50 drawings were announced after the second set with the proceeds benefiting the programs involved in the ceremony. The final set saw Emmaus continue to outshine the K-Kids with a score of 25-8. Carson Landis and James Haag scored nine and eight kills respectively for the Green Hornets in the matchup.

“It was a tough loss, the effort just wasn’t there. We knew what Emmaus is capable of and I had hoped that we would put up a fight to get us motivated but it wasn’t in the cards,” said Faust. “They (Emmaus) are a great team. We have a few games left in the season and we need to do what we need to do. Which is play some defense, which wasn’t there tonight.”

The Konkrete Kids have now earned a seasonal record of 8-5. The final home match of the 2017 season will be held on Tuesday, May 9, against Liberty while the team’s final match of the season will be at Nazareth on Thursday, May 11.