Long-time rivals Parkland and Emmaus faced off on Saturday morning on the court in historic Rockne Hall for the 2021 EPC Boys Volleyball title.  In a match no one expected to be quick, the two teams battled for 2+ hours before Emmaus emerged with the win 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 15-12).  Jordan Lewis (Sr. OH) led the way with 14 kills while Mason Bergstein (Sr. S) dished out 51 assists.

The Emmaus win means they leapfrog Parkland and Whitehall into the #1 seed for the upcoming District XI AAA tournament which begins on Thursday.

Next up for the Trojans is a District XI AAA Quarterfinal match against #7 Liberty.  The match will be held at Parkland with the start time to be determined.

#1 Parkland and #4 Northampton faced off on Friday night in the EPC Semifinal, looking to advance to the EPC Final against the winner of the other semifinal match between #2 Whitehall and #3 Emmaus.  Parkland came out quick and efficient, dominating the play throughout the night and earned the 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-19) win.  Chase Robbins (Soph. OH) hammered home 13 kills while Jordan Lewis (Sr. OH) added 10.  EPC MVP JT Siggins (Sr. MH) added 9 kills and 6 blocks.  As a team, Parkland their most complete game while earning a trip to the EPC Championship.

In the other semifinal, Whitehall raced out to a 2-0 lead but Emmaus stormed back and won the match 3-2.

The 2021 EPC boys volleyball playoff bracket can be seen at the link below.  In the Quarterfinals, #3 Emmaus def #6 Nazareth 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-17) and #4 Northampton def. #5 Easton 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-23).  That means the bracket (link below) has been updated to display the semifinal matches between #1 Parkland vs #4 Northampton and #2 Whitehall vs #3 Emmaus.  Those matches will take place Friday, May 14th.

  2021 EPC Boys Volleyball Playoff Bracket

As rare as a boys' volleyball doubleheader is, the Trojans took part in their second straight doubleheader in as many days.  This time, Parkland first traveled to Bethlehem Catholic to take on a very improved and scrappy Golden Hawks team.  In the end, Parkland earned the 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-16) win.  45 minutes later, the Trojans squared away with Liberty to conclude each team's regular-season schedule.  Parkland was able to shake off the travel legs and take the match 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 17-25, 25-16).  The win concludes Parkland's regular season which saw them end 17-1 (15-1 EPC).

Next up for the Trojans are the EPC semifinals on Friday night.  #1 Parkland will play the lowest remaining seed after the Quarterfinals at 7:00pm.  #2 Whitehall will host the highest remaining seed after the Quarterfinals. The quarterfinal matchups are #5 Easton @ #4 Northampton at 5:00pm and #6 Nazareth @ #3 Emmaus beginning at either 5:00pm or 5:15pm.

Congratulations to four Parkland Trojans who were recognized by the EPC Coaches by being named a 2021 EPC All-Star.  The complete list (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Team) can be seen in the link below.

Parkland players who were named to the All-Star teams include:

John Siggins - EPC MVP

Jordan Lewis - All-EPC 1st Team

Mason Bergstein - All-EPC 1st Team

Azhar Sumar - All-EPC 3rd Team

  2021 EPC Boys Volleyball All-Star Teams

In a rare doubleheader, Parkland earned 2 more wins on Monday night.  To start the night, Parkland downed visiting Allen 3-0 (25-8, 25-7, 25-6).  In the nightcap match featuring two heavyweights in the EPC, Parkland traveled to Emmaus for a match with big playoff implications.  When the dust settled, Parkland emerged with the 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 22-25, 15-6) win.  The win moves Parkland to 15-1 (14-1 EPC).  JT Siggins with a huge night offensively with 15 kills including a handful of thunderous swings.  Azhar Sumar anchored the defense all night with 19 digs and great serve reception all night.

Next up for the Trojans is their last regular season EPC match at Liberty tomorrow.  It's another Varsity only match beginning at 6:30pm.

CONGRATULATIONS to Pranav Balabhadra for being selected as the 2021 EPC Boys Volleyball Scholar-Athlete overall winner.  Pranav was selected as the overall winner for boys volleyball from a list of very deserving nominees from the other EPC schools.  Pranav joins a long list of overall winners from Parkland as he is the 10th overall winner in the last 13 years.

UPDATED AGAIN!

The following updates have been made to the remaining schedule.

• Saturday, May 8th vs Bethlehem Catholic @ PHS 1:30pm Varsity only (CANCELED)
• Monday, May 10th vs Allen (Varsity only) 3:00pm start.  Varsity will travel to Emmaus once match is completed.
• Monday, May 10th @ Emmaus (Varsity only) 6:15pm start
• Tuesday, May 11th @ Liberty (Varsity only) 6:30pm start
• CANCELED Match vs Bethlehem Catholic (Varsity only)

EPC Playoffs

• Thursday, May 13th EPC Quarterfinals Time TBD @ #3 vs #6 and @ #4 vs #5
• Friday, May 14th EPC Semifinals Time TBD @ #1 vs lowest remaining seed and @ #2 vs highest remaining seed
• Saturday, May 15th EPC Final 11:00am @ Rockne Hall (Allentown Central Catholic HS)