The seventh-seeded Northampton volleyball team defeated Wyoming Valley West 3-1 inside Whitehall High School on Thursday, May 18, to advance to the quarterfinals of the District 11 playoffs.

Coming into the match Northampton held a record of 9-7 on the year after having only three victories the year prior.

“We knew Wyoming Valley West, they have a couple of key hitters and we knew what to do to keep the ball away from them,” said Northampton head coach David Faust. “We’ve come a long way. We were hoping to finish this game 3-0 but Wyoming played well and earned a set.”

The first set saw Northampton jump to a 12-4 lead after an impressive serve set by Erik Fulks. Wyoming Valley West responded though, jumping back within a point to make the game 18-17. Despite the resurgence, Northampton prevailed, winning the first set 25-18.

The second set saw Northampton once again score early and often with a 12-2 lead in the opening minutes. Brandon Caffrey was dominant scoring impressive kills as Northampton won the second set 25-15.

Set three saw the most action as Wyoming Valley West controlled the early part of the game outscoring Northampton 8-2. Wyoming kept the lead until Northampton surged to a 17-17 tie. The match continued with back and forth action resulting in the set going into overtime, before Wyoming Valley West were able to pull away with a score of 27-25.

The final set saw the back and forth action continue as Northampton led 10-8 in the early going but the K-Kids proved to be too much of a match for the Spartans as they began to break away, ending in a 25-17 victory.

The victory allowed Northampton to move on in the night to face number-two seed Whitehall in the quarterfinals.