Liberty’s girls volleyball team believed that numbers didn’t mean anything when it came to being the second seed in districts and ending up on the short end of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Tournament.

“We treated it like we were the number one seed, you know? Numbers don’t matter. We just came in and played our game,” said Liberty libero Eva Madeira after the Hurricanes were crowned District XI Class 6A champions over Parkland, 3-1, on Nov. 4 at Catasauqua High School. “We were communicating, over communicating, just calling whose ball it was, and calling what spots we saw open. We had confidence. We did a mixture of rotational, and we did a mixture of perimeter defense. But all in all, came together as a team, and we really worked towards this goal.”

The Hurricanes opened the match against the Trojans with a swift first set, 25-13.

Parkland took its first lead of the match in the second set but quickly fell behind, 7-3, partly due to Liberty’s blocks.

As the Hurricanes pulled away, 18-11, the Trojans found some momentum with three straight points on a kill by Gabby Nissen, a tip by Adi Ochoa, and an ace by Nissen.

Liberty regrouped with a timeout and came back to take the second set, 25-18.

“Our girls take a lot of accountability,” said Liberty coach Fern Torres. “We talked about running out of gas in EPCs and knowing some of the mistakes we made. We were really driven from that moment on. We had a little extra time off because of that loss, and we really prepped for districts and said this is the run we want to make.”

The third set, however, was a reversal in control as Parkland jumped out to an 8-4 lead and won, 25-19.

“We changed our rotation,” said Parkland coach Mike Krause. “We moved three positions so we’d see a different matchup, and then that changes psychologically and you’re playing a little more relaxed, a little more confident.”

With Parkland’s Alex Serina and MJ Bhanji on the block and a kill by Riley Schilling, the Trojans continued to pound on the Hurricanes.

Another Schilling kill, this time to the back corner, made the score, 15-8, Parkland.

“To Parkland’s credit, they put it on us in that set,” Coach Torres said. “With a team like that, the way they serve, the way they play defense, you want to try and get a lead and be able to hold onto that.”

Sami Walls’ kill to the middle caught the Hurricanes off guard, and Parkland went on to win, 25-18.

After a back-and-forth start to the fourth set, Liberty went ahead, 12-6, but Parkland fought back to pull within two points.

Liberty pulled away again to lead 17-11 and won the set, 25-15.

“That fourth set, we had a couple hiccups to start, and they took advantage of it,” said Coach Krause. “They have really good net players, the setter locates the ball extremely well, and those girls can hit it.”

Liberty’s Sofia Condoulis delivered 20 kills, Mia Mitch tallied 35 assists, and Madeira had 17 digs.

“I knew I knew I had to help the team and just get the ball somewhere on the court so we could sign out of it quick,” Condoulis said. “It’s the best feeling ever. I mean, to have this after getting knocked out in semis of EPCs, it feels amazing.”

Coach Torres applauded his Hurricanes for playing a complete game.

“Stellar defense, offensively we were efficient, finding seams within their blocks, and everybody executed at as high a level I could have asked for,” he said. “Credit our defense because as our offense was getting their feet underneath them again after that third set, our defense kept finding ways to get balls up, and then we were able to settle in and take the lead and finish it.

We were 8-8 in 2025, barely making districts, and for them to put all that work in and have the regular season they had and post season they had, it’s a credit to them just never settling.”

Both teams will enter the PIAA Class 6A State Girls Volleyball Tournament this week when Parkland will travel to Downingtown West and Liberty will host Conestoga, both on Nov. 11.