Eight straight. It is a streak to be commended. The Parkland High School girls volleyball team rises up when the lights are brightest, and it has shown over the last decade.

The Trojans continued their success on the court, not only during the 2021 season, but in the postseason over the last 10-plus years. Parkland defeated Freedom in straight sets last Wednesday night at Catasauqua High School to win the District 11 Class 4A championship, the eighth consecutive district title for program and 11th in the last 12 years overall. Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-17, 25-18.

“This is incredible,” said senior middle hitter Brynn Dreisbach. “Everyone pulled through tonight. This shows our hard work pays off every year and it feels good. It’s our eighth straight and it gets better every year.”

Parkland improved to 22-0 overall and has dominated most of its opponents, winning in just the three sets a majority of the time. The Trojans were taken to four sets against Liberty in the semifinal round of districts, but pulled that one out. That test may have helped them and given them a little bit of a wakeup call in a positive way.

“I think we needed that,” said head coach Mike Krause on the four-set victory against the Hurricanes. “We’re not going to beat everyone in straight sets, so it was good to see how the girls responded to losing a set. They bounced back well, and I was happy to see their resiliency.”

Against the Patriots on Wednesday, it was more of the way the season has gone, with Parkland taking control in each set and finishing off what was in front of them. Another year, another title. But Krause knows this year’s team is different and special.

“I think what’s different about this team is their resiliency,” Krause said. “A big thing is what these kids had to deal with through COVID. We had plans to travel to Orlando on Labor Day weekend for the Southeast Nike Invitational, but couldn’t because of COVID. I think this title helps normalize their high school experience.”

Dreisbach finished with nine kills and 12 digs. Elena Pursell tallied a team-high 14 kills. Maggie Smith contributed 33 assists and eight digs. Scarlett Jago totaled 11 digs and Meredith Steirer had nine digs.

Parkland advances to the PIAA tournament and will host the fourth-place team from District 1, Downingtown West (20-4) Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Parkland High School.