The Northampton girls volleyball team opened their 2025 campaign with a pair of wins for new head coach Helene Quaintance. They crushed Upper Perkiomen in straight sets, 25-5, 25-9, 25-11 in last Friday’s season opener and followed that with an 18-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-21 win against 2024 EPC North Division champion Pleasant Valley on Monday.

On Tuesday they faced their first divisional opponent, Liberty, in Pete Schneider Gymnasium and fell to the defending District XI 4A champions in four sets, 19-25, 25-22, 17-25, 18-25.

The Hurricanes proved to be a little too strong for the K-Kids on the front line as they bested Northampton in kills for the match by a margin of 34-23.

“Liberty was probably our strongest competition of the season so far. They played really well and we’re still working on a couple of things. Also, we had one of our starters out for the game,” lamented Quaintance.

The Kids only trailed 10-11 midway through the first set, but a run of 7 points by the ‘Canes widened the lead to the extent that Northampton was never able to get closer than four points for the rest of the set.

The second set was hotly contested throughout. The teams were knotted at 22 when Madelyn Taff delivered a powerful spike to give the K-Kids the lead and a side out. Grace Doward followed with one of four Northampton blocks on the night to give a set point. The Kids evened the match at a set apiece when Liberty’s next return went long.

The Hurricanes controlled the third set, going up 17-8 and never looking back.

Northampton was right in the third set, down 11 to 12, when a close call may have turned the tide against them. Claire Luckenbach appeared to have gone down the line for a clean kill to tie the set, but the ball was ruled to have nicked the antenna giving the point to Liberty.

Mia Mitch, the Hurricanes’ sophomore setter and best server, proceeded to run off 7 more points in a row to dash any hopes of a Kids’ comeback to even the match.

Luckenbach led the squad with 6 kills. Taff and Isabella Pecuch each contributed 4. Cyd Chilson had 14 assists and 7 digs. Leah Everhart was tops defensively with 12 digs.