Just about every coach wants his or her team to get off to a strong start.

The North Allegheny girls' volleyball team accomplished that feat on Saturday for coach Dan Schall. The Tigers won the championship of the seven-team Mt. Lebanon tournament, which included some of the top teams in the WPIAL.

"It's nice to win one," Schall said. "It's been a couple years since we won a tournament. We've made it to the finals a few times during that stretch, but came up short."

Making the accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that North Allegheny defeated defending WPIAL Class AAA champion Mt. Lebanon in the one-game final, 25-17.

"We also faced Mt. Lebanon in the preliminary round and split with them," Schall said. "We also split with Upper St. Clair in the prelims, but swept the other four teams, which gave us a 10-2 record. We then faced Moon in the semifinals and beat them.

"It's a good way to start the season."

North Allegheny continued its fine start with Tuesday's 3-0 win against Oakland Catholic in its Section 3-AAA opener. The Tigers play host to Pine-Richland tonight.

"The section title is up for grabs," Schall said. "We have four standout teams -- Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland, Butler Area and North Allegheny -- but only three can qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

"It's been that way for the past few years and this year should be no different."

North Allegheny placed second in Section 3-AAA last season after losing twice to champion Seneca Valley.

The two teams met again in the consolation for third place in the WPIAL Class AAA Tournament and North Allegheny avenged the two losses with a 3-2 victory.

The third-place finish earned North Allegheny a berth in the PIAA tournament. The Tigers made a strong run in the state tournament by tying for third place after losing to eventual runner-up Garden Spot.

"There's no clear-cut favorite in the WPIAL," Schall said. "There are a bunch of teams in the mix. We will see quite a few of those teams on Saturday at the Shaler tournament. Twenty-four of the best teams in Western Pennsylvania will be at the Shaler Tournament."

Schall lost 10 players to graduation from last year's squad, but have three key starters returning, including Jackie Lang, a 5-foot-10 senior right-side hitter. Lang is a two-time WPIAL and Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association All-Star. She was voted to the second team of the WPIAL All-Stars as a sophomore, then earned first-team honors last year. She has also been recognized by the PVCA, twice being selected to its Finest 40.

"Jackie has accepted a scholarship offer to Miami, Ohio, to be their libero," said Schall, who pointed out that the change of position from hitter to libero is not unusual for NCAA Division I schools. "Jackie has exceptional passing and defensive skills. Besides, at 5-10 she might be too small to be a hitter."

Lang has switched positions with Tigers teammate Gretta Freyermuth, a 5-9 senior outside hitter who is also a returning starter.

"Gretta played on the right side last year," Schall said. "Her passing skills have improved since last year, which allowed us to make the switch. Having Gretta on the left side gives Jackie more flexibility to move around on the right side."

The other returning starter is Natalie Masters, a 5-9 senior outside hitter. Logan Meinert can also be considered a returning starter, but she only played half of the season.

"We used a 6-2 offense last season and Logan was one of our two setters," Schall said. "We switched to a 5-1 offense when Logan suffered a season-ending ankle injury midway through the season. This year, we will be using a 5-1 offense with Logan running the offense. It's good to have somebody back with experience."

Schall has 16 players on his varsity and everybody played on Saturday.

Other outside hitters in the mix are 5-8 senior Kate Munson, 5-7 junior Leeanne Haus, 5-9 junior Kaitlin Bradshaw and 5-10 senior Steph Avalli.

The two starting middle hitters are 5-11 senior Kayleigh Tony and 5-9 sophomore Kassie Freyermuth.

The other two middles are 5-9 senior Kendra Calhoun and 5-9 senior Laura Conti.

Liz Overbaugh, a 5-8 senior, is the Tigers libero. Others playing in the back row are 5-7 junior Kelsey Davies, 5-6 senior Maura Jeffries and 5-5 senior Caroline Koenig.

North Allegheny has made two appearances in the WPIAL finals since Schall took over in 2002. Unfortunately, both ended with a loss. The Tigers lost to Baldwin in the 2003 title match and to Moon in the 2006 final.