Everyone has to lose sometime.

Lehighton was swept by second-seeded Allentown Central Catholic, 25 -17, 25-12, 25-6, in the first round of the District 11 Class AA playoffs on Thursday. Despite the loss, Lehighton met expectations, accomplished some goals, and had a proud head coach after the game."We didn't meet all of our goals, obviously, because our season is over a bit prematurely," said Lehighton head coach T.J. O'Connor. "We feel like we should qualify for districts every season. The fact that we qualified was something that we were proud of. We competed well in the Schuylkill League - our goal was to qualify by hitting the .500 mark overall and league record, and we did."O'Connor mentioned that his squad hasn't faced an opponent quite like ACC throughout the 2015 season."The problem with playing a team like ACC is that they don't' have any weaknesses to attack," he said. "We don't play anybody in our league like them, nobody has that kind of power. We prepared the last few days by hitting hard against our players, explaining that it was going to be a fast tempo match on the road, and that mental toughness was very important."Lehighton earned an 11-7 overall record this season, and O'Connor will say goodbye to Andrea Schafer, Autumn Frey, and Alyssa Jordan - a trio of hard working seniors he's coached for quite awhile."I have all the respect in the world for our three seniors," O'Connor said. "All three of them have been with me since they were in seventh grade. I can't say enough about this senior class, how much they have done, and how much I appreciate them."Lehighton junior Katie Higgins was a bright spot during the loss against ACC, compiling five kills and 10 digs."She (Higgins) is the epitome of the student-athlete," said O'Connor. "She prepares harder than any student-athlete I've ever met in my 10-year coaching career. I haven't seen her level of intensity matched by any competitor before. She led us in every statistical category this season."Higgins, a verbal-commit to Georgia to play soccer, has fantastic athletic ability and will be returning next season along side of Tori Eads-Rodriguez to lead the Indians. Eads-Rodriguez will be on a personal mission to try and reach the 1,000-assist milestone during her senior year.O'Connor will have a nice nucleus of returning girls led by the previously mentioned pair of juniors."I feel very fortunate to be coaching at Lehighton. We have the best support from the parents, fans, and have the best student athletes. All of the support makes my job so much better day in and day out. I can't stress enough how grateful I am to be involved with this program."