HELLERTOWN - Both Lehighton and Saucon Valley played in every District 11 Class 2A volleyball tournament over the last four years.

The Indians and Panthers never crossed paths in the district playoffs over that span, however.In both programs' first year at the Class 3A level - due to some realignments and the addition of another class - they finally were able to meet up Wednesday night in this year's District 11 quarterfinals.Saucon Valley swept the Tribe, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19."We played them early in the regular season," Lehighton coach TJ O'Connor said. "We played them tough (a 26-24, 25-20, 25-11 Panthers sweep), so we expected to do the same thing tonight. We battled early with them."Unfortunately, they have a lot of size, they're very athletic and as anyone can tell they put a lot of time in on the offseason. So, a lot of those elements kind of led to us being swept tonight."The Indians kept pace with the Panthers for the first half of the opening game before the Colonial League champions took an 11-10 lead. But Saucon Valley quickly took control and pulled away for the victory.Game two was all Saucon as it opened a double-digit lead midway through and cruised home.The Panthers jumped ahead 16-6 in game three, but the Indians didn't give up without a fight.With O'Connor getting his underclassmen some district playoff experience, Lehighton found new life and gave the Panthers a run for their money.The Indians got as close as four points on three separate occasions (18-14, 20-16, 21-17), before eventually falling."We got some younger girls in when it was out of hand and we actually came back with those girls on the court," O'Connor said. "So, that shows a lot for the mentality those girls had getting in against a hostile crowd and a championship program."They all played tough though. You play as tough as you can and you prepare for next season."LEADERS OF THE TRIBE ...Katie Higgins spearheaded the Indians' performance with 14 kills and 25 digs. Emily Haberman (17 assists) and Lillian Brown (eights digs, two aces) also played well.MOVING UP ...It was the first year in the program's history that Lehighton played at the Class 3A level. Since 2003, the Indians qualified for the District 11 Class 2A playoffs every year except in 2010 and 2011.WORTHY OF HONORS ...Saucon Valley's Malia Bartek, Sabrina Semo and Melissa Bosco were named 2016 Colonial League first team all-stars. Last night, the Panther trio showed why. Bartek led the Panthers with 11 kills, two blocks and one ace, while Semo followed with seven kills and two aces. Bosco ended up with four kills.