When the East Penn Conference volleyball playoffs get underway this week, Liberty will look to win their third straight conference title when the action begins Tuesday night.

The Hurricanes (13-2) are all but guaranteed a top-four seed in the eight team playoff, as they wrap up the regular season Monday night at home against Freedom (11-6).

Head coach Missy Lynn knows that her team is excited about the opportunity of to defend their league titles and for the chance to win a three-peat, but doesn’t want to put any added pressure on a program that’s already established itself as one of the best in the area.

“We’re pretty relaxed,” said Lynn heading into the postseason. “They’ve always put a lot of pressure on themselves to win, which can hurt us in big matches, so I’ve stressed that they have nothing to prove. They’re consecutive conference champs. They’ve already made a name for themselves.”

Liberty came into the week as the third-seed in the conference and could see a matchup with Central Catholic (11-4) in Tuesday’s opening round.

In order to lock up that seed, they needed to beat Freedom in an always tricky rivalry contest on Monday.

“It’s senior night, so it’s sure to be emotional,” said Lynn of their match with the Patriots. “I think we always get excited to play Freedom. If we control the ball on our side, and take advantage of every opportunity Freedom gives us to earn points, we’ll be ready for Tuesday when the playoffs begin.”

The Patriots are also likely to qualify for the EPC playoffs, as they could be seeded seventh or eighth depending on the outcomes of matches Tuesday night. That would mean an opening bout with one of the top seeds Nazareth (16-3), Emmaus (15-4), Liberty or Parkland (13-2).

Bethlehem Catholic (11-5) will also qualify for the tourney, as they finished the regular season on Monday against Easton. The Hawks will likely grab the fifth seed and play one of the top four teams mentioned above in their EPC playoff opener.

The EPC semifinals will take place on Thursday night at Whitehall with the finals to be played at Northampton on Saturday.

EPC Field Hockey

In field hockey, Liberty took care of Stroudsburg in the EPC quarterfinals on Saturday, knocking them off 2-0 with goals from Sadie Abboud and Rayne Wright. The Hurricanes (15-2-2) moved on to play top-seeded Emmaus (19-0) in the semifinals, which are past Press deadlines. Liberty has won three straight games since their last loss, a 4-0 defeat to Emmaus.

The Hurricanes are the lone team to make the playoffs (conference or district) this year in the city, as Bethlehem Catholic (6-9-1) fell short of their bid despite winning three straight games to end the season. The Hawks knocked off Whitehall, Freedom and Allen to end the year. Freedom (3-14-1) lost seven straight games to conclude their season.