A number of Seneca Valley High students will be staying after school this afternoon, but not for detention.

And the extra time they will spend at the school has nothing to do with next week's possible teachers strike.

"I'm expecting a big crowd," said girls' volleyball coach Karen Martini, referring to the Raiders' showdown with North Allegheny for first place in Section 3-AAA. "The match has been moved to 3:30, so kids can stay after school and support us."

Seneca Valley and North Allegheny take 8-1 section records into tonight's action. Pine-Richland is 7-2.

Seneca Valley defeated North Hills, 3-0, on Tuesday, while North Allegheny defeated New Castle, 3-0. Pine-Richland had an open date.

"Our only section loss was to Pine-Richland [last Thursday]," said Martini. "Nothing went right. We couldn't hit or block to save our lives."

Seneca Valley posted a 3-1 victory against North Allegheny in the first half of section play.

"I expect the second match against NA to be tougher," Martini said. "They have two of the best front-line players in the WPIAL [Maria Nolan in the middle and Jackie Lang on the outside]."

Seneca Valley, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland are the only teams in the playoff picture. Fourth-place Butler has five losses. North Allegheny has the toughest road of the three, as the Tigers also must face Pine-Richland next Tuesday.

"This section is so strong that we should have four teams qualify for the WPIAL tournament," Martini said. "Butler deserves to be in the playoffs. It will be a shame to see them sitting at home during the postseason."

Section 3 did have four WPIAL qualifiers last year because Seneca Valley and Butler tied for third place. Seneca Valley advanced to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Moon. North Allegheny faced Moon in the title match, which meant two of the WPIAL's three PIAA qualifiers in Class AAA were from Section 3.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see all three of us in the WPIAL semifinals this year," said Martini.

Martini has built her squad around four seniors, three of whom have lettered since their freshman year.

"All four seniors were members of our WPIAL championship team in 2004," said Martini. "They saw first-hand what it takes to win a title."

Seneca Valley's most effective hitters have been its middle hitters -- Justine Carrow, Jennifer Boyd and Meghan Franz. Carrow and Boyd are 6-foot-1 seniors, while Franz is a 6-0 junior.

"It's unusual to have middle hitters as the top three hitters on a team," said Martini. "Fortunately, it's worked."

The other returning seniors are Lauren Balmert, a 5-7 setter, and Emily Hannon, a 5-5 defensive specialist.

"Lauren began the school year ranked No. 1 in her class," Martini said. "She was also voted to the second team of the WPIAL all-star team last year."

Boyd was a first-team WPIAL all-star last season, while Carrow and Balmert were second-team. Boyd also was voted to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Finest 50 in Class AAA.

Franz is among seven juniors who have played significantly. The others: 5-4 libero Maggie Gullooly; 5-11 outside hitter Jillian Galloway; 5-4 setter Kellie Karasac; 5-9 outside hitter Cassie Kulp; 5-5 defensive specialist Paige Banyas; 5-6 back-row specialist Dana Hughes.

"Jillian is a transfer from Nevada," Martini said. "This is her third school in seven months. Her dad works for UPS."

The only sophomore seeing time on the varsity is Hallie Ganch, a 5-5 defensive specialist.