Kevin Walters is three for three since taking over as head coach of the Bishop Canevin High School girls' volleyball team.

"The year before I got here, the team had a 1-17 record," Walters said. "We tied for third in the section my first year, finished second last year and tied for first this year."

Bishop Canevin made its third consecutive WPIAL Class A playoff appearance last night against Geibel at Penn Hills. The Crusaders were seeded sixth in the 19-team bracket.

"I expected this team to compete for the section title," Walters said. "The seniors on this team were the sophomores I had in my first year.

"We had talent returning and some talent move in. The girls worked very hard during the offseason and it's shown on the court."

Bishop Canevin tied with Bentworth for the Section 6-A title. Both teams finished with 11-1 section records.

"Both matches against Bentworth went to five games," Walters said. "We lost on the road in the first half [of section play], then came back and beat them at home in the second half."

Bishop Canevin takes a 16-2 overall dual-meet record into the playoffs.

"I try to play bigger schools in our non-section matches," Walters said. "It doesn't benefit us to play smaller schools. Beating a bigger school can help us in the seeding."

Bishop Canevin faced six teams in non-section matches and five were against Class AA teams. The Crusaders defeated Knoch, Keystone Oaks and Hampton twice, and lost to Montour. They also beat Avonworth, a Class A playoff team.

"I haven't seen all the top teams in our bracket, but from what I hear, West Shamokin, Greensburg Central Catholic and Beaver County Christian are the favorites," said Walters.

"One thing I am sure of is that the competition in Class A is getting better every year. I feel the top six seeds all have a legitimate chance to win it all. And you never know if one of the lower seeds will sneak up on everybody. I expect a lot of matches to go to five games."

Walters had five seniors on last year's squad, but only two were starters. This year's squad has nine players who had previous varsity experience, including a trio of Section 6-A All-Stars, 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter Katelyn Blaich, 5-10 junior middle hitter Dana Heidenreich and 5-9 sophomore outside hitter Natalie Medved.

"Katelyn and Dana were voted to the first team and Natalie was a second-team selection," Walters said. "Katelyn is a four-year starter and is one of the top outside hitters in the WPIAL in Class A. Dana is a three-year starter and becoming one of the top middles in Class A. Natalie played on the right side last year, but moved to the left side this year."

Kristen Schmidt, a 5-7 senior middle hitter, is a three-year starter, while Meghan Cunningham, a 5-6 junior setter, is a two-year starter.

"Kristen was an outside hitter the past two years. We moved her to the middle this year," Walters said. "Meghan ran a 5-1 offense last year. This year, we have her sharing the setting duties with a freshman."

The freshman is 5-3 Katie Oliverio.

"When Meghan rotates to the front row, we sub Katie into the back row, and Meghan plays the right side," Walters said. "It's worked very well since both are good athletes."

The other four players in Bishop Canevin's 10-player rotation are 5-8 senior outside hitter Lisa Abbott, 5-5 senior back-row specialist Jen Karabinos, 5-9 junior right-side hitter Emily Banic-Tarnow and 5-5 sophomore libero Joie Hrapla. All four are returning letter-winners.

Walters is in his ninth season as a head coach. He coached five years at North Catholic and one season at Mars before taking over at Canevin. Walters has coached eight teams to WPIAL playoff berths.

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