NORTHAMPTON — Qualifying for the league playoffs is one thing.

Winning there is another.

Lehighton’s volleyball team turned in an impressive regular season to reach the Colonial League’s Final Four.

But on Tuesday in the semifinals, the No. 4-seeded Indians got a glimpse of what it means to be among the upper echelon.

Undefeated Southern Lehigh was strong at the service line and powerful at the net to gain a 25-11, 25-12, 25-9 sweep and advance to Thursday’s championship match.

And just its presence on the floor probably earned the Spartans unseen points.

“I’m not ecstatic with the effort we put forth,” said Lehighton head coach Marsha Thomas. “I think we could have played better ... We take it, and we learn from it, and we build on it. We have to get ready for districts.

“I sometimes wish we could switch (the Southern Lehigh) jerseys and bring them in with a different name and just see if there is (an intimidation factor or not).”

Thomas probably wished there were different players in those jerseys, too, as the Spartans run out a talented group.

Leading the way is senior Amelia McCoy, who collected a team-high nine kills in the victory. Five of those came in the opening set.

Lehighton trailed just 5-2 in that opening set before a 6-1 run put Solehi up by eight. Seven consecutive points later, which included a pair of aces from Sama Al-Alim, pushed the score to an insurmountable 22-7.

“We have 18 girls up on varsity right now, 14 that were with us all year, and I trust any of them ... to go out there and get us an ace,” said Spartan head coach Don West. “We’re serving really well, every one of them, so it’s a nice weapon to have out there to get easy, free points where we don’t have to do much.”

The service line benefited the winners in the second set, too, as Cameron Tyrell registered four of them during an 11-0 start. The Indians did manage a brief four-point run thanks to some Spartan unforced errors, but could never get within striking distance.

“They’re a great program,” said Thomas. “Don’s a great coach. I think Southern Lehigh with their ability is very humble in a way. They could be really arrogant, and they’re not. That’s just not the type of team that he coaches, which is kudos to him.”

While the Spartans don’t boast, they don’t let up either.

While the Indians hung around in the third set, trailing just 9-5, Southern Lehigh used another run to take command.

Sarah Jones delivered three straight kills while a 6-0 spurt put the top seed up by double digits. They closed the match with another 6-0 run to earn their CL title berth.

“All year, we’ve playing a certain way and we’re not going to stop,” said West. “I did get a lot of people in tonight, but you want to make sure you’re going in the right direction going into the final and districts, as well. You don’t want to let up or do something that’s going to hurt you. You have to play the same way each game.”

Thomas was also able to play a number of her players, including some underclassmen.

Despite the loss, she hopes that time pays dividends down the road.

“I tried to play some underclassmen so that if the same opportunity arises next year, there’s a core of kids that can be like, ‘Hey, we played here last year,’” said Thomas. “So I tried to use it from an experience perspective for some underclassmen so that when they get the opportunity to play in this game again, they have that experience.”

IN THE FUTURE ... While the Indians didn’t play their best, the team will get another chance to take the floor in districts. “I told the girls they’re going to regret not giving everything they have with this opportunity, because you don’t get these opportunities often,” said Thomas. “I said, ‘This is going to be something you look back on and wish you did better. The good news is you get one more shot at a game like this. What you choose to do with that is up to you guys ... You didn’t have a great Colonial League (playoff) but you’ve got a second shot at districts.’”

THE OPPONENT ... Lehighton doesn’t know yet who it will face in the D-11 4A playoffs. It’s likely the Tribe will face either Northwestern or Notre Dame-Green Pond on Tuesday.

Southern Lehigh 3, Lehighton 0

Lehighton 11 12 9

Southern Lehigh 25 25 25

Statistics: Lehighton - Aleea Yeakel 11 digs; Mallory Snyder 3 aces; Allison Solt 3 kills, 1 block; Southern Lehigh - Amelia McCoy 9 kills; Zoe Siuta 6 kills; Eliana Marques 24 assists, 3 kills; Cameron Tyrell 5 aces, 6 digs; Jenna Steckel 7 digs.

Records: Lehighton (12-9); Southern Lehigh (19-0).