Gretchen Mountain knows what it's like to be the spouse of a head coach; now her husband, Jeff, is getting a dose of the same medicine.

"My husband is the head baseball coach at Washington & Jefferson College," said Gretchen Mountain, who is in her first season as head coach of the Trinity High School girls volleyball team. "We both know the ups and downs of coaching, and we're there for each other. We understand what the other is going through during the tough times and appreciate the good times."

Jeff Mountain has already become the all-time baseball coaching victories leader at W&J in just six seasons and recently led the Presidents to their first NCAA Division III playoff berth. Gretchen Mountain is hoping for similar success at Trinity.

"Larry Myers built a successful program here at Trinity and my goal is to continue that success," Mountain said. "I've always wanted to coach. I love working with young student-athletes to help them reach their potential."

Myers stepped down as girls' coach to concentrate on the boys' program at Trinity. He was a coach with the girls' program for 22 years, including 14 as head coach.

"This is my first head coaching job at the high school level," Mountain said. "I was an assistant at South Fayette one year and two years at Canon-McMillan. I took off last fall to attend graduate school. I've also coached various club teams in the area. This job gives me the opportunity to raise the bar as a coach, and hopefully raise the bar for my players."

Mountain is originally from Ohio. She graduated from Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, just outside Dayton. She also played collegiately at John Carroll University in Cleveland.

"I've been fortunate to learn from a lot of good coaches over the years," she said. "I want to pass on what I learned to my kids."

Mountain has been successful in reaching her goals thus far, as the Hillers have won four of five matches in the opening weeks of play in Section 2-AAA.

"We had a tough schedule right from the start," Mountain said. "Our first two matches were against the two teams that shared the section title last year.

"We opened against Connellsville and beat them in five games. We then faced Upper St. Clair and gave them a good match, but dropped a 3-1 decision."

Last week, Trinity posted a 3-1 win against Ringgold, then shut out Canon-McMillan 3-0. The Hillers opened this week with a 3-1 victory against Peters Township. They return to action tomorrow with a match at Albert Gallatin.

"I was hired in mid-July," Mountain said. "I had just over a month to prepare for the season. I was familiar with some of the kids from coaching against them, but had no idea what to expect. I came in with a blank slate and let their performance in practice dictate who earned spots in the starting lineup."

Trinity has also fared well in two tournaments.

"We won the Silver Division [title] at the Upper St. Clair Tournament [on Sept. 12]," Mountain said. "On Saturday, we won our preliminary pool at the South Fayette tournament, then lost in the first round of the playoffs to Mars. Both tournaments allowed us to play a wide range of WPIAL teams from Class AAA to A."

Mountain has a squad that has both youth and senior leadership. The Hillers 12-player roster includes five seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.

The seniors are 5-foot-6 setter Lauren Billie, 5-11 middle hitter Caitlin Deep, 6-0 middle hitter Sara Reese, 5-11 outside hitter Mary Stadelman and 5-8 right-side hitter Alyssa Mathews.

"Lauren has great athletic ability and jumps way beyond her size," Mountain said. "Caitlin, Sara, Mary and Alyssa give us good size on the front line. All five have provided good senior leadership."

The juniors are 5-6 libero Katy Cook, 5-10 outside hitter Bri Hollick, and 6-0 middle hitter Spencer Secreti. The sophomores are 5-8 Lindsay Stough and 5-8 defensive specialist Toni Mele. The freshmen are 5-8 defensive specialist Jen Maskarinec and 5-8 right-side hitter Olivia George.

"Caitlin, Sara, Mary and Bri have been our top hitters," Moutain said. "We have good balance on the front line."

Mountain is also in her first year as a reading specialist at Trinity High School.

"I've always been around volleyball and wanted to find a home," Mountain said. "I've found that home at Trinity."

Mountain had the players pick a slogan for the season and had it printed on T-shirts. The slogan they chose was: "Dreams are what get you started. Discipline is what keeps you going."