Parkland sweeps Freedom for 8th straight title
Peaking in the postseason is ideal for any sports team.
For nearly a decade, the Parkland girls volleyball team has progressed in each round of the district playoffs.
The Trojans kept that pattern in Wednesday’s District 11 Class 4A title match against Freedom.
After passing a tough semifinal test, Parkland reached a new level in the finals, which resulted in a 3-0 [25-18, 25-17, 25-18] sweep of the Patriots at Catasauqua High School.
The district title marks eight straight for the state’s top-ranked team, all under head coach Mike Krause.
“I think what’s different about this team is their resilience. A big thing is what these kids had to deal with through COVID,” Krause said. “We had plans to travel to Orlando on Labor Day weekend for the Southeast Nike Invitational, but couldn’t because of COVID. I think this title helps normalize their high school experience.”
The most normal part of Wednesday’s final was Parkland’s utter dominance. Historically at this time of the year, the Trojans run away from the rest of the field in District 11, which is what they did against a talented Pates team.
Maggie Smith’s precision passing allowed heavy hitters Elena Pursell (14 kills) and Brynn Dreisbach (9 kills) to lead the offensive attack for the Trojans. Smith finished with 33 assists.
“I think Maggie and I are in sync with one another. Maggie sets well off the pass, and our pass was awesome tonight,” Pursell said. “It’s a collective group and I’m just honored to help continue this streak for the alumni and future players.”
On defense, Parkland had a big net presence and did not allow many balls to hit the floor.
Dreisbach had 12 digs and Smith had eight. Also turning in strong defensive efforts were Scarlett Jago (11 digs) and Meredith Steirer (9 digs).
“This is incredible. Everyone pulled through tonight. This shows our hard work pays off every year and it feels good,” Dreisbach said. “It’s our eighth straight and it gets better every year.”
The Trojans now advance to the PIAA tournament, which begins Tuesday. In the first round, Parkland will host the District 1 fourth-place finisher.
Unfortunately for Freedom, the state’s fifth ranked team, only one District 11 representative advances to the state tournament this season.
Still, the Patriots’ accomplishments this season speak volumes. Freedom won the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference East division a couple weeks ago before battling through Pocono Mountain East (quarterfinals) and Emmaus (semifinals) to reach the district finals.
“[Parkland] looked really good and we knew they’d come at us quickly. We just didn’t play as fluid as we did last week against Emmaus,” Freedom coach Donna Roman said. “This is certainly the best Freedom team we’ve had in the past decade. After the match, I really focused on the positives and milestones we had this year. Those are the things we need to keep in mind.”
The Trojans carry a record of 22-0 into the PIAA tournament while the Pates end their season at 20-3.