All along, Whitehall head volleyball coach George Cowitch had a good feeling. Seeing his team advance to the state PIAA Class 3A semifinals wasn’t a surprise.

“The season went well,” noted Cowitch. “We on the inside knew what we were capable of. The outside noise is just that, outside noise.

“We did feel that we could get where we did, as we have some of the best players in the league.”

The Zephyrs picked up their first state win when they downed Abington Heights, 25-16, 25-13 and 25-22 victory over the District 2 champions in the opening round. Against Abington Heights, Cole Richards had 10 kills and Omari Ratliff added eight kills and four blocks. Cole Rozycki had seven kills and two blocks. Setter Kole Moyer had 33 assists, and libero Drew Sodl had 21 digs and set a single-season Whitehall record for digs.

However, the Zephyrs’ run ended in the state quarterfinals when they dropped a 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19 decision to defending champion Cumberland Valley.

Against Cumberland Valley, Richards had 11 kills and 13 digs, Sodl had 25 digs, Moyer had 50 assists and 13 digs, Ratliff had nine kills, Rozycki had 13 kills, and Jayden Haik had 12 kills and 11 digs.

Cowitch cited several of his players for their run and accomplishments that helped compile an overall 19-6 record. Whitehall lost to Parkland in the East Penn Conference (EPC) championship and they suffered a defeat to Emmaus in the district Class 6A final.

“Cole Rozycki, Omari Ratliff, Kole Moyer, and Drew Sodl were all standout players for us this season,” stated Cowitch. “Ratliff and Rozycki dominated in the middle, each compiling over 250 kills each and hitting over .300 as middle hitters. Kole Moyer eclipsed the 2,000 assist mark for his career and Drew Sodl became the leading dig leader in a season and eclipsed 1,000 digs for his career.”

Cowitch does have a solid core returning with Moyer, Rozycki, outside hitter Jayden Haik, outside hitter Derek James, setter Colton Tiburzi, middle hitter Mohammed Zaher, libero Gia Colon, outside hitter Zaire Hendry, and outside hitter Owen Gilbert.

Cowitch anticipates his team ready to take the next step.

“We are losing five seniors,” said Cowitch. “But we have a bunch of starters and guys in waiting coming back.

“We like our nucleus back, and we gained more experience.”