Greg Lockley is hoping to give the Mt. Lebanon High School boys' volleyball program something it hasn't had in a couple years -- coaching stability.

"I'm the third coach in three years for most of these kids," said Lockley. "My goal is to rebuild this program to the high standards it once had and give the program a solid coach for a good number of years."

Lockley comes to Mt. Lebanon after spending the previous three years guiding Pine-Richland through its WPIAL debut.

"I started the program at Pine-Richland and was having good success with them, but the drive from West Mifflin [where he resides] was becoming too much to take," said Lockley, who is an administrator at Career Connections, a charter school in Lawrenceville. "Mt. Lebanon is much closer and allows me to continue coaching the sport I love so much."

Lockley played four years at Peabody High School, then played four more years at the University of Pittsburgh. He began his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant at Peabody.

"I also coached at Woodland Hills, both the girls and boys, beginning in 1994 with the boys, until 1997," said Lockley.

"I've also been coaching women's volleyball at the collegiate level, at Chatham College for 11 years, the last eight as head coach.

"And I've been a coach for the Renaissance Volleyball Club [which competes on the Junior Olympic circuit] for quite a few years."

Mt. Lebanon concluded the first half of section play with last night's 3-1 loss against Upper St. Clair. The Blue Devils are 3-4 overall, which includes a 2-3 mark in Section 1-AAA.

"The teams in this section are evenly matched," said Lockley. "Central Catholic is the top team, but we took them to five games before losing in the fifth game. We also had a five-game match against Bethel Park, and lost, 25-23, in the fifth game.

"That's how close the teams are in this section."

Mt. Lebanon must finish among the top four teams in its section to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

"The section title is still up for grabs," said Lockley. "We still have to face everybody in the second half."

Lockley has 16 players on his varsity, with 11 seeing most of the playing time.

"The transition to a new coaching staff has gone very well," said Lockley. "I've been very fortunate to have a very nice group of kids to work with. They have done everything I've asked them to do."

Mike Calland, a 5-foot-10 junior, is back for his second year at setter.

"It's nice to have an experienced setter to work with," said Lockley. "He should be one of the best setters in the WPIAL by the time he graduates."

The Blue Devils do not have a "go-to" hitter, as four front-line players have shared the duties -- 6-1 senior outside hitter Tarik Hodzic, 6-3 senior middle hitter Dan Schmidt, 6-1 senior outside hitter Ernie Hauser and 6-3 sophomore middle hitter Rob Helwig.

"Our team is dominated by seniors and juniors," said Lockley.

"We need to get more young players involved. A key is to get a junior high program started."

Other seniors who have seen significant playing time are 6-1 right-side hitter Josh Chaban, 5-11 defensive specialist Jeff Drozynski, 5-11 right-side hitter John Altman, 5-9 defensive specialist Jason Sando and 6-0 middle and outside hitter Lee Johnson.

Another returning starter is Benjamin Telang, a 5-7 junior libero.

"We will be spending this weekend in York at the Central York Invitational," said Lockley. "I've never been there before, but it's considered one of the strongest tournaments in the state. It will be interesting to see how we fare."

Mt. Lebanon will play host to its own tournament May 12 and looks to add two more teams.