The match was over for about an hour Thursday night when the Emmaus girls volleyball team returned to the school from Liberty High School, where it had just made history.

Their excitement was still palpable as they got off the team bus and huddled one last time before dispersing to their families.

In a classic championship match, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s top seeds went toe-to-toe and to the wire. The Green Hornets got down to unbeaten and top-seeded Bethlehem Catholic two sets to none, but, as they have done all season, they refused to quit. They fought back for a memorable 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-22, 15-13 victory and the program’s first league championship.

“It was phenomenal,” Emmaus coach Jessica Olang said. “The amount of pride I feel for what these girls did tonight … was unreal. But everything in our season was setting us up for this moment. It really was. We’ve had to overcome so much, and these girls have had to stick to each other like glue. They had to learn how to fight through adversity. We’ve had a couple of five-setters … thank you, Parkland … and we were prepared for that situation. They hung tough. The defense was unbelievable.”

Olang, who is the daughter of longtime area volleyball coach Sue Arndt, said that even though Emmaus had lost the first two sets, her team didn’t lose confidence because there was very little separation between the teams. Emmaus actually had a 23-21 lead, but couldn’t hold on.

“I told the girls that I am not even calling that second set a loss,” Olang said. “We were right there. It could have gone either way. We had the momentum and we just had to keep it going.”

Olang said “some strange stuff happened” in the beginning of the third set.

“We had the wrong server and things like that, but the girls kept their heads on and capitalized on every moment that they could,” Olang said. “Our offense came on really strong, and there was no turning back from there.”

Alyssa Heffner settled the offense with 51 assists and added six kills. She also had 15 digs and two aces. Amanda Rivera had 18 kills, and Fiona Answini, Rosie Landino, and Claudia Walls each reached double figures in kills. Sophomore Emma Nesfeder, who started the season as a reserve setter, moved into the starting lineup as a middle hitter after two of Emmaus’ best players — Maleya Hinds and Andraya Flowers — went down with injuries and delivered a solid all-around performance.

But it was the defense that stood out the most as Emmaus collected 124 digs, led by Corrine Slivka’s 25 and Sophia Freemont’s 20.

“We just had to play as a team and count on each other,” Heffner said.

“There really was no strategy,” Rivera said. “We just said we’re going to play, we’re going to give it our all, and whatever happens, happens. In the fourth or fifth set, we started to think more about what’s open, what do we have, and not just swing away. We knew we were so close. We knew their weaknesses, and we just had a lot of motivation because we knew we were so close. We just never let a ball drop and went for everything. I don’t know. It doesn’t feel real that we made history.”

It was the second straight year Becahi lost in five sets in the league finals. In 2024, the Golden Hawks (20-1) lost a thriller to Allentown Central Catholic, and several of the girls had said they desperately wanted to get the gold this time, but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, it was Emmaus’ time.

“When the girls are in the gym working so hard every single day, you want it so bad for them,” Olang said. “But the hardest part of coaching is knowing that you’re not going to get on the court and do it for them. They have to get it done, and it was so rewarding to watch them do it.”

Olang, who has her mom and sister, Lindsay Olang, along with Kelsey Nilsen and Emily Elek on the staff, said that the strong connections of the coaches made it even more special.

“We have the most incredible coaching staff,” Olang said. “I always joke and say if I dropped over, any one of them could take over tomorrow and do a fantastic job. I am so grateful for each and every one of the coaches. They’re awesome.”

Before the team left the school parking lot, Olang told the girls they would be off on Friday, but the work would resume soon with districts up next. A scrimmage between Emmaus and newly-crowned Colonial League champion Southern Lehigh was arranged for Monday.

Emmaus has won a District 11 title before, taking the gold in 1995 when Arndt was the coach. Earlier this year, the Green Hornets celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of the program with a special reunion. They would like the special occasions to continue with a strong showing in the District 11 4A tournament, which will begin next week.

“We’ll reset, stay focused and just keep doing what we’re doing,” Oland said. “We put ourselves in great position because Freedom had the first seed before tonight, but now we moved ahead of them as the No. 1 with the preferential seeding. We’ll play our first match in the quarterfinals on Thursday. We’ll scrimmage Southern Lehigh to help get us ready. It’s nice because we don’t normally play each other. But we’re going to enjoy this. These girls deserve it.”

Sparkling Spartans

While Emmaus had never won a league title before, Southern Lehigh made it 11 straight titles in the Colonial League with a 3-0 win (25-11, 25-13, 25-20) over Northwestern Lehigh in the championship match at Catasauqua Thursday night.

Eliana Marques had a solid all-around performance for the Spartans (18-0) with 23 assists, a kill, four aces, eight digs, and three blocks. Natalie Pristas chipped in 14 kills, six digs, and five blocks, and Zoe Siuta had three aces, four kills, two assists, and six blocks. Mia Stanten and Bella Germani hustled on the defensive end with 14 and 12 digs, respectively.

The Spartans, who won the District 11 3A title last year, will be the top seed in this year’s tournament.