The Northampton boys volleyball team came into last Friday’s match versus Emmaus looking for a signature win against one of the Lehigh County Division’s powers.

When it was all said and done, the Hornets came away with a four-set victory in the battle between one-loss teams, 25-19, 16-25, 26-24, 25-21.

The K-Kids jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set. However, they went 8 straight rotations without winning a point on serve which allowed Emmaus to erase the deficit and claim the set.

In the second set, Northampton once again got up early and the 13-3 advantage proved sufficient to allow the Kids to even the match at a set apiece. A big block by Alex Schoenen at 20-15 thwarted a Hornet comeback attempt.

In the crucial third set, neither team won more than three consecutive points, nor led by more than 2 points at any juncture. The K-Kids’ undoing was service errors. Six of their total 13 on the night happened in the third set, giving the Hornets free points during the seesaw battle.

In the final set, Emmaus went up 10-5 and kept Northampton at bay. The score was as close as 21-18 late in the set, but the K-Kids could not draw any closer.

Jackson Fehnel racked up 12 kills and 15 digs on the night. Keller Repasch had 32 assists and 11 digs. Giancarlo Martinez had 11 kills and 9 digs. Alex Schoenen recorded 8 kills and 13 digs. Duane Milnes contributed 4 kills and 15 digs.

Head coach Sue Arndt summed up the result.

“Missing 13 serves is certainly not going to help us” she said. “We knew that they were going to battle. It’s a test. It’s not anything major right now. It’s not EPCs, it’s not districts. We’re learning from it and we’re moving on.”

Unfortunately, the Kids dropped their next match, to Liberty on Saturday, in 5 sets: 19-25, 26-28, 25-20, 25-19, 17-15.

With a 10-3 record with 5 matches remaining in the regular season, Northampton has already clinched a spot in the district playoffs and is in good shape to secure one of the six bids to the EPC tournament. They are currently fourth in the standings.

Of the five contests left, matches against Bethlehem Catholic and Allen should be easy wins. Liberty and Freedom are winnable, but not a given. The K-Kids will finish the regular season against Whitehall on May 5. The Zephyrs are the defending district champions and are currently the top-rated 3A team coming off a win over Parkland.