For the third time in three years, Whitehall’s boys volleyball team will compete for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship on May 14 at William Allen High School after defeating Emmaus, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 27-25, 25-14), on May 12, also at William Allen.

“This is such a game of momentum, and we told them in Set 3 into 4, we have the momentum, and don’t let them grab it back, and they never did,” said Whitehall coach George Cowitch. “We jumped out to that big lead, traded points at the end, and we were just better.”

Whitehall and Emmaus split the first two sets, and the Zephyrs fell behind early in Set 3.

Points from Zephyr middle blockers Omari Ratliff and Cole Rozycki chipped into the Hornets’ lead, and libero Drew Sodl scored from falling flat on the ground to bring Whitehall within two points.

Giovanni Colon’s serve fell just inside the Hornets’ net, and Jayden Haik tied the set, 23-23, while Cole Richards gave Whitehall a 24-23 lead.

After two ties, Rozycki scored, and on the last point, Emmaus hit the ball out of bounds.

“We had a game plan coming in to not let them hit down the line and hit cross, and we were playing defense off it really well,” Coach Cowitch said. “Our guys just wanted it. I told them before we left, we’re not leaving Allen losers, and we didn’t.”

Sodl, Kole Moyer, and Derrick James combined on a tremendous play in Set 4, and consecutive points from Rozycki, Elias Kamhia, and Moyer gave Whitehall a nine-point lead.

“I just knew I had to make a play on it, and we played scrappy today, and that’s Whitehall volleyball,” Sodl said. “Our coaches, that’s what they want us to do. That’s how they want us to play. Every day we do chase-down drills, scooping, digging. Coach (Doug) Barriner does a great job with us. It feels amazing. Three years in a row, we’re in the EPC championship. It feels great.”

Sodl had 24 digs, 4 assists; Moyer had 42 assists, 19 digs, 3 kills, 3 blocks; Ratliff tallied 17 kills, 2 blocks; Rozycki added 14 kills, 2 blocks.

Said Kamhia, “Our coaching staff’s amazing. Sometimes you’ve just got to listen, and once you actually listen, the stuff they tell us isn’t gonna be wrong. Just simple fundamentals you go back to and just put it down. After we came back in that third set, we knew that next set was ours for sure because we cleaned up everything and saw what we had to do. We got a lot better since the last time we played them, and we just got tired of losing. I could tell when it was gonna be the last point, and it just feels really good.”

Whitehall will play Parkland in the conference final with the first serve scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

“I knew where we were at mentally, and we’re in a good spot right now,” said Cowitch. “We asked them to go into another gear. There were flashes of it, and we’ll have to do that against Parkland. They’re really good, and so are we, and I think the best two teams in the league are playing each other on Thursday.”

Last week, Whitehall defeated Nazareth, 3-1 (25-9, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21), in a conference quarterfinal at Whitehall.

“We told our guys to come out fast and efficient and we did Set 1,” said Cowitch. “Set 2, not. Set 3, not. Set 4, better. It could’ve ended in three. It didn’t. This time of year, it doesn’t matter how you win. You’ve just got to win.”

Haik had 14 kills, 9 digs, 1 ace; Ratliff tallied 10 kills, 1 block; Moyer added 39 assists, 9 digs, 3 aces; Sodl had 24 digs.

“I think us being focused changes the game for us a lot,” said Ratliff. “Once we’re in the game, we have to be ready to be locked in.”

Six days earlier, Sodl recorded 1,000 career digs in a nonconference match against Neshaminy, won by Whitehall.

“I was eight away the day I got it,” said Sodl, who was a newcomer to the sport his freshman year. “I didn’t know a lot about volleyball. I knew I liked it, but as soon as I heard I could get 1,000, I went after it.”