It was nearly two weeks since Freedom last played a volleyball match heading into Tuesday night’s EPC semifinals against Parkland.

That result was past Press deadlines, but it was certainly a match the Patriots were looking forward to after a long layoff since the end of the regular season.

After a 17-1 regular season, Freedom lost their first match of the season to Emmaus on April 27 and now looks for redemption in the postseason with their search for an elusive conference and district gold medals.

Head coach John Yanek hopes that a late season defeat could be beneficial for his group, as the postseason arrives.

“We need to be focused at all times,” said Yanek of the lessons learned from the Emmaus loss. We need other players to step up if our starters are not playing well. We must play to win, not play, not to lose. That’s a famous quote. “Hopefully they understand that they have to be focused no matter how the match is playing out.”

Freedom came into the EPC tourney as the second seed and received a first-round bye, while third seeded Parkland swept Northampton in the quarters.

Freedom defeated the Trojans in four games early in the season, but as everyone in the volleyball landscape knows, Parkland is always a different team when the postseason arrives.

“We scouted them and are going to practiced specifically to defend against their hitters and serve away from their Libero,” said Yanek. “I believe if we stay to the game plan, we should do fine. Parkland is more dangerous in the postseason. Their coach always gets them to play their best near the end. We need to stay focused on the little things, believing they will lead to bigger things.”

If Freedom wins on Tuesday night, they’ll play in Thursday’s championship game at Allen against Emmaus or Whitehall at 6:05 p.m.