The Emmaus High School girls volleyball team squared off with arguably its toughest team to date, but was unable to come out on top, falling to Parkland 3-0 by scores of 25-18, 25-13, 25-23 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference match at Emmaus High School last Tuesday night.

Hornet head coach Jessica Attieh said Parkland exposed some aspects of the game she would like her team to improve on.

“Parkland gave us a good look at some of our weaknesses and what we need to work on,” said Attieh. “Parkland challenged us better than any other team, which gave us an opportunity play at a quicker pace against a strong offense and defense.

“I think we played with them well, but allowed too many rallies which ultimately cost us the game. The second set was a big adjustment losing one of our players to injury, but they picked it up the next set.”

The Green Hornets (11-3 overall, 9-3 EPC) won their first nine conference matches to start the season, but they met a team playing just as well if, not better, in the Trojans (11-0, 11-0).

“Parkland has a long history of being a successful team,” Attieh said. “This was nothing new coming into this game. Their team has multiple talented players, and they play well together. They have a consistent and powerful hit in every position and defense that does not let the ball hit the floor.”

But even after the defeat, Attieh looked at it as a learning point for her team and still was pleased with how her team competed against one of the state’s top teams.

“It’s never easy losing, however I was still proud of the way they played,” said Attieh. “They were constantly communicating, working together, and adjusting the best they could. There is always room for improvement, so these next few weeks we’ll work on what we need to until our next match up against them.

“Sometimes you learn more from a loss than a win. I think they learned a lot about what they are capable of and adjustments that need to be made. I hope they translate what we work on in practice at our next match against Parkland.”

Parkland head coach Mike Krause was also complimentary of the Green Hornets.

“Emmaus always plays hard,” Krause said. “They did a good job of keeping the ball in play. They were a defensive oriented team. They challenge your offense to keep the ball in play.”