The Scahill family and more than 50 of its closest friends will be spending a "family vacation" in San Diego the weekend of Oct. 6-8.

"My daughter's 10th birthday is that weekend, so she's telling everybody she's going to Beverly Hills for her birthday," said Linda Scahill, coach of the Baldwin High School girls' volleyball team.

Scahill and her group will not have time to spend in Beverly Hills, however, because their schedule is already filled with volleyball and football.

"We are entered in the sixth annual Beach City Classic," said Scahill, referring to a 32-team high school tournament sponsored by La Jolla High School. "Some of the best teams in the country attend this tournament."

Scahill and her group will depart Oct. 5 and will return Oct. 9.

"We are taking 23 players and most of their parents are going," said Scahill. "I'm not sure of the final count, but we could have as many as 70 making the trip.

"We've been raising money for more than a year and will need $22,000 for the trip. We held a spaghetti dinner and several car washes, sponsored an ad book, and worked at concession stands at Steelers games and concerts. It's been a lot of work preparing for the trip, but we're all looking forward to it."

Because the team will miss a few practices, Scahill has made sure her squad will not be spending the entire weekend on the beach.

"We have a practice scheduled at Manhattan Beach before the tournament," said Scahill. "That's where the [Association of Volleyball Professionals] started pro beach volleyball. We also have a private tour of the Olympic Training Center [in San Diego] scheduled. The girls will even go through a training session."

But Scahill and her clan do have some leisure time scheduled during the California trip.

"We hope to spend some time at Laguna Beach," said Scahill. "And the Steelers are playing in San Diego that Sunday night. We've bought more than 50 tickets for the game. Everybody is looking forward to the trip."

But Scahill and her Highlanders have more pressing matters to deal with this week. Baldwin concluded the first half of its Section 5-AAA schedule with a 5-1 record and are No. 2 in the rankings compiled by the WPIAL Coaches Association.

"Our only loss came in our section opener at Mt. Lebanon," said Scahill. "That match went five games and ended with Mt. Lebanon winning the deciding game 15-12. The second half begins [tonight] with our rematch against Mt. Lebanon, and fortunately this one is at home. It's also Alumni Night, so we should have a pretty good crowd."

Baldwin has also done well in tournament competition. The Highlanders have been among the top finishers in their other three tournaments.

"We opened the season at the Montour tournament and had an 11-1 record in pool play, but lost in the quarterfinals to Penn-Trafford," said Scahill. "The following weekend, we made it to the final three out of 28 teams at the Shaler tournament, but lost a one-game playoff to North Allegheny."

Baldwin also made it to the semfinals of the Upper St. Clair tournament, despite having two starters out of the lineup, before losing to Seton-LaSalle.

"There is no clear-cut favorite in Class AAA with so much parity," said Scahill. "Every team has a weakness. Our job is to find those weaknesses and overcome our lack of height."

Baldwin placed fourth in the WPIAL last year, after losing to Moon in the semifinals and Greensburg Salem in a consolation final. Three starters return from that squad, 5-6 senior outside hitter Danielle Woods, 5-7 junior outside hitter Leslie Dunn, and 5-4 senior setter/right-side hitter Emily Zern. Woods was voted to the second team All-WPIAL last year.

"We have 10 seniors," said Scahill.

Also in Baldwin's 11-player rotation are: 5-4 junior setter Jordan Scahill, 5-5 senior defensive specialist Andrea Bova, 5-6 senior defensive specialist Jessie McGuire, 5-11 senior middle hitter Kristen Sawl, 5-10 senior middle hitter Allyson Davic, 5-7 senior right side hitter Rebecca Michalski, 5-4 junior defensive specialist Lindsay Bettilyon, and 5-10 freshman middle hitter Brittney Edwards.