With spring right around the corner, many people think of the start of spring sports such as baseball or lacrosse, but there is the forgotten sport of boys’ volleyball that is also starting up.

This year’s team has big shoes to fill after over ten seniors graduated last year.  Seven of those seniors made it to the first or second team all WPIAL.  Besides filling in the big shoes left by graduated players, the team also has the expectation of success with only a few losses in the past several years.

Also, the head varsity coach, Dan Mountain, stepped down for personal reasons.  This means that this year is a rebuilding year and a fresh start for the program.

In January the Seneca Valley school board approval Dan Folliet as the head coach for the boys’ volleyball program.  Folliet graduated from Seneca Valley over 5 years ago and was a star player in one of the first years of the program.  In college he played for Juniata and won a Men’s Division 3 Volleyball title.  Folliet hopes to bring fresh new energy and talent to the program.

The focus this year is to be both a great conditioned team and to play every single ball with a purpose.

In addition, to the changes in the coaching position there are also several new talents hitting the court this year from both the senior and junior classes.  This year there are four seniors and six juniors that are all very highly talented and excited about this year.

Kris Baier, a senior outside hitter said “I think it’s really great that we finally got our new coach.  That has allowed us to progress as a team and come together.  We lost a lot from last year, but I think our coach brings a lot to the table and I’m really looking forward to this season.  It’s going to be a fun year.”

Even though there are over 15 matches this year, there is one match that the players are looking forward to more than the other ones and that is the game against North Allegheny.

The Raiders and the Tigers have one of the largest rivalries for boys’ volleyball in Western Pennsylvania.  However, North Allegheny has dominated volleyball for the past decade.  The Raiders are one of the few teams to have upset them in the past several years.