A good start typically puts a team in a positive position.

A strong finish will almost guarantee a victory.Nazareth started and ended exceptionally well in a 25-14, 25-14, 25-20 sweep of Pleasant Valley in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference girls volleyball quarterfinals on Tuesday,."We can really do some nice things when we play with energy," explained Nazareth head coach J.T. Pursel. "It's a lot of fun to see what our girls can bring onto the court."Energy came from a number of sources for the Blue Eagles. As a squad, Nazareth blasted 13 aces and committed just five errors during the win. Pursel noted that his squad is an aggressive-serving team, which didn't bode well for Pleasant Valley's young back line."We graduated five four-year starters last year," said Pleasant Valley head coach John Gesiskie. "Three of those five girls were top defensive players. We need some people to step up and be leaders. The whole back-line is new, so they're coming along as the season goes on."We need to be more consistent with our serve-receive. We even have a hard time when we do it in our gym in practices. Tonight they realized that you can't be nice to each other in practice, they have to push each other every day."After spending six seasons as the assistant volleyball coach at Lafayette college, it's Pursel's first year with the Nazareth (14-3, 13-3 EPC). He's finding early success and enjoying the journey."It's nice to just have the kids and build with them, and not necessarily worry about the recruiting part of college," Pursel said. "I'm a fan of education, and I think that at the high school level, you can really get the kids to buy into what you're doing. Since day one, the kids bought into what Emily Paney (assistant coach) and I were trying to do."Pleasant Valley has the potential to be a dangerous team in the EPC for years to come, as the Lady Bears start just one senior. Gesiskie's squad won the EPC Mountain division for the second consecutive year, and will have a chance to make a splash in the District 11 playoffs next Thursday when they take on Emmaus."The higher competition is going to push them to the next level, and then they'll understand why we push hard in all of our practices including the offseason," said Gesiskie. "The girls are now becoming more together as a team and realizing that they're all playing out there for each other. Everyone is going to make mistakes along the way, and everyone has to pick each other up."THE FAST START...Nazareth's Hailey Dougherty recorded six-straight service points to start off the match, four of which were aces. She also added 16 digs during the victory. "She's got an aggressive serve and is definitely a huge spark plug to our team," said Pursel. "She played a major role in getting us off to the right start."THE STRONG FINISH...Nazareth ended the first and second sets on 7-2 spurts. Breanna McDonald was a big part of the Eagles' aggression and momentum on Tuesday. McDonald tallied 13 kills, eight blocks, and committed no errors.RISING DEFENSIVE STAR...PV's young defense will have to grow the rest of the year and throughout the offseason. Gesiskie may have found a leader in junior libero Sofia Janak, who totaled 14 digs against the hard-hitters of Nazareth.