Following the Emmaus girls volleyball team’s only setback of the season, a loss at rival Parkland back on September 5, the Hornets have been on a roll that continued in their latest match.

The Hornets (7-3 overall, 7-1 EPC) defeated Dieruff in straight sets by scores of 25-5, 25-10 and 25-22 last Thursday evening at Dieruff High School. The win was the sixth straight for Emmaus, all conference matches. Things have been clicking on all cylinders of late as the Hornets have also won the last five matches in straight sets.

“We have been working on our serve-pass game, really concentrating on our first pass,” said senior Macy Van Den Elzen. “When you can get a good first pass, it sets up your execution up front. Dieruff has some tough servers so it fit with what we were working on. We also concentrated on our service pressure.”

Ever since that first week of September when the Hornets dropped two matches in two days, they have really locked in and worked as a team to climb back up the standings.

“After the Parkland match, we really focused on our team defense,” Van Den Elzen said. “Parkland does a good job of moving the ball quick to their outsides. Practice mostly has been all about getting quicker on defense.”

Van Den Elzen has been instrumental in the success of Emmaus this season, leading the team in kills and also stepping up and becoming a leader in her final year in green and gold.

“Now that it’s my senior year, coach [Brianne Giangiobbe] has stressed the importance of leadership both on and off the court,” said Van Den Elzen. “It has made me appreciate more than ever the legacy of leaders before me. Coach Bri’s energy has been invaluable. She is going to do so many great things for this program.”

Emmaus finishes off the week with three matches in four days. The Green Hornets are home against East Stroudsburg South tonight, followed by road games at Central Catholic Friday and at Bishop Shanahan Saturday.