A 5-set rematch between Whitehall and Freedom went the Patriots’ way at the District XI Class 3A Boys Volleyball Tournament on May 22 when the Zephyrs lost, 2-3 (21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 10-15), in a district semifinal at Catasauqua High School.

“I still think we are the better team,” said Whitehall coach George Cowitch, “but we just didn’t do enough tonight to finish.”

The Zephyrs hadn’t lost to Freedom since 2009, and Freedom hadn’t qualified for the state tournament, also since 2009, until this year.

While Whitehall had a nice start, Freedom quickly gained on the Zephyrs in the first set, and multiple out-of-bounds balls hurt Whitehall for half of the second set.

“We switched our lineups around so that we had our sophomore setter also setting, so that our senior setter Joe (Braun) could get hits,” said Freedom coach John Yanek. “It worked in the first and second set. Third set, we had control, but I think we tended to just kind of relax.”

After an intense rally in the third set, Whitehall took a 14-10 lead, but at 22-22, the Zephyrs called a timeout. Opposite hitter Cole Richards, who left everything on the court, was instrumental in winning the third set for Whitehall.

Blocks from Peter Tabarani aided in an 18-8 Zephyr lead in the fourth set and an overall 2-2 tie.

Said Coach Yanek, “I said to them, some of you guys weren’t doing your job, and I said you were getting down, and I said your face and body shows that to them, and they’re a smart team and they’re a well-coached team, and they’ll serve at that person, and we didn’t want to happen. The fifth set, I said, ‘You can’t let the ball drop. You’ve got to go after it.’”

Freedom led throughout the fifth set and won the match on an out-of-bounds ball.

“We made too many errors on the offensive end which made the difference tonight,” Cowitch said. “Our outside hitters and their lack of experience really showed tonight, and we will be better for it next season.”