Nearly every championship team in any sport and any level needs to overcome some adversity to get to the top.

Although the Emmaus boys volleyball team wasn’t challenged often in the regular season or even in the league and district playoffs, the Hornets had to battle back twice in Saturday’s state quarterfinal against Pennridge.

The District 1 champ won the first game of the match and was ahead by four points in the fifth and deciding game of the match. But Emmaus responded both times en route to a 24-26, 25-14, 25-22, 24-26, 15-11 win that advanced the team to Tuesday’s state semifinals.

“It was great to see this,” said Hornet head coach Ken Dunkle. “As nerve-wracking as this was, it was probably the best experience for the boys going into the semifinals and hopefully the finals to know they can stand up to a tough test.”

With the match tied 2-2 and Pennridge ahead 8-4 in the fifth game, Dunkle called at time out with the Rams seven points away from ending his team’s season.

“In game five,” said Hornet junior outside hitter James Haag. “We went into a huddle and said ‘This is not the last day we’re playing volleyball this year.’ We just made that decision that the next point was going to be good, we got that point and then we just built on that.”

Emmaus got that next point and Mitchell Shoemaker served eight more in a row to put Emmaus in control at 13-10.

“We fought and that’s the big thing that I was hoping for was that the boys would continue to push,” said Dunkle. “They haven’t been pushed this hard all season.”

While the players might rather win in less than five sets, they enjoy the competitive matches they get in the state tournament.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking but we love it,” said Haag. “There’s nothing we want more than a big crowd in the gym where you can barely hear the coach in the huddle. That’s what we live for. We live for these big games and the big pressure moments and that’s when we play our best volleyball.”

If the Hornets get past District 3 champ Central York Tuesday they advance to Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A final at Penn State. (Tuesday’s semifinal was played after Press deadline. See next week’s issue for coverage).

Central York is the top-ranked team in the state, while Emmaus (23-0) is ranked second.

The Hornets have gotten this far with a balanced offense that keeps teams guessing as to where the ball is going and where it is coming from.

“That makes us very dangerous,” said Haag. “You can go against a team and just shut down one player, but to beat us you have to shut down all seven of us. You can’t serve to our libero. You can’t focus your block on one player. You have to focus on all the hitters, which makes us hard to play against.”

Haag had 13 kills against Pennridge. Noah Bacon led the team with 15 while Carson Landis added 12. Cameron Parsons dished out 51 assists in the win and Brendan Dunkle made 17 digs.

The Hornets also contained Pennridge’s 6-foot-3 Ball State University-bound middle hitter Ben Chinnici.

“Every match is seems someone different steps up and really comes through for us,” said Ken Dunkle. “Cameron and Brendan have been doing a spectacular job with Cameron running the offense and Brendan keeping the ball off the floor. It’s as complete of a team I’ve seen at this level.”