Trojans ground Blue Eagles in straight sets
“We don’t have to block them every time, but if we can block as a team, it frustrates them and makes them not able to find the court means we are doing our job then.”
We have reached that time of the season when teams look to send some messages to each other.
Parkland sent a message to every other playoff contender Friday night that it intends to be the toughest dog in the fight. The message came via a straight set win over Nazareth at Parkland High School. The players wanted not only to win the game but to make it in straight sets.
“It feels really good to take them out in three sets,” said senior Chris Robbins. “It took Emmaus four sets, so we wanted to get it them in three if we could.”
Parkland won the first set 25-16 followed by 25-18 and 25-22 wins in the following sets.
The opening set was at 10-9 in favor of Parkland (12-0 overall, 10-0 EPC) when libero Ahmad Jaffer took over to serve. Jaffer would not stop serving until he had helped to put the Trojans up 17-9 before the Blue Eagles broke serve. Jaffer also served five straight points in the second set win. Parkland led in kills 14-6 in the first set.
“I have been working in practice to improve my serves and teammates have helped me get better with my serves, so I have to thank all of them,” said Jaffer.
Parkland also kept Nazareth (13-3, 8-2) from getting any prolonged scoring streak. The Eagles longest point runs of the night were four, which they did once in the second set and again in the third.
“Our defense is amazing,” said Jaffer. “We have to win points on defense and then when we get the points, it’s easier for the passers, the setter, everyone.”
The Trojans took the second set from 1-1 to 8-2 thanks in part to a serving streak from Josh Nation that featured two aces. A service error broke the string to make it 8-2. Nation also took the Trojans from a 2-1 lead in the third set to an 8-2 lead before another service error broke the run. The teams went back and forth before the Eagles broke serve with Parkland up 15-6 before Ross Ellis served to cut the lead to 15-10. Nazareth got as close as 23-20 and then cut it to 24-22 before Parkland picked up the final kill of the night to win 25-22.
There was a scary moment in the third set when juniors Jaffer and Rahul Jasapara were involved in a violent collision. Jasapara stayed down on the court for a while and was checked out by the team trainer. Jaffer, in his first game back after an injury, was able to get up and told the trainer that he was not injured and both players were able to continue.
“Jaffer is our emotional leader and our vocal leader; you won’t hear him up in the stands, but he is directing
— Scott Trumbauer, Parkland boys volleyball coach
traffic on the court and is the driver on defense,” said coach Scott Trumbauer.
The blocking at the net was the primary reason that Parkland was able to get the straight set win. Trumbauer believes that blocking has been a big reason for the success that the team has had this season and it was especially good against Nazareth.
“We had Chase Robbins (6 feet, 2 inches), Luke Smith (6 feet,1 inch) and Owen Rodgers (6 feet, 3 inches) in a rotation and that is our biggest lineup and we got where we were there for a while. We were doing an excellent job of taking away the court,” said Trumbauer. “We don’t have to block them every time, but if we can block as a team, it frustrates them and makes them not able to find the court means we are doing our job then.”
Robbins was proud of the play that he and his net mates were able to provide the team with in the win. He likes the way the team is playing and believes that they are in position to make deep runs through the postseason.
“If we close blocks – and we do a lot of the time – we succeed because then we have the other areas covered,” Robbins said. “We have been working on receiving service and that’s something every team can always improve on. We also need to be a little better on setting; that needs some improvement, but other than that, we are good.”
Emmaus keeps pace
The Hornets (14-0, 10-0) met up with the Spartans from Southern Lehigh (11-2) Friday night and came away with a three sets to one win to stay undefeated and tied for the top spot in the EPC with Parkland. The two teams match up Thursday night at Parkland. Southern Lehigh is at the top of the hill in the district 2A race, but the Colonial League does not have a playoff system.
After Friday night’s games, Emmaus, Parkland, Nazareth, Liberty (10-3, 8-3), Whitehall (10-5, 7-3), and Freedom (9-7, 7-3) have all clinched spots in the EPC tournament.