The East Penn Conference volleyball tournament gets underway this Thursday with Freedom earning a first-round bye.

The Pates (17-1) received the second seed in the tournament after losing their first match of the season a week ago, losing to Emmaus in four games for their first loss of the season.

Emmaus (13-1) grabbed the top-seed with the win over Freedom, as both teams will sit out Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

Thursday’s matches consist of third-seeded Parkland (12-3) taking on sixth-seeded Northampton (10-7) and Whitehall (14-3) squaring off against Nazareth (12-4) in a four-five matchup.

Emmaus gets the winner of the Whitehall-Nazareth showdown next Tuesday in the semifinals at 7 p.m. at Allen.

Freedom will either get Parkland or Northampton in Tuesday’s opener at 5 p.m.

The EPC final will be slated for next Thursday at 6 p.m. back at Allen.