Laura Trahan described her first season as girls' volleyball coach at North Catholic High School as "chaotic."

"My husband [Keith] and I had spent the previous six years coaching at James Island High School, a Class AAAA public school in South Carolina," Trahan said. "Coming to a Class A private Catholic school was a complete 180 for us.

"At James Island, we had a successful program that required us to cut our roster to 25 players. At North Catholic, we started the season with 13 kids, for both varsity and junior varsity, and finished with 11 kids. It was completely the opposite to what we had experienced in South Carolina."

Making the situation even more tenuous was the fact that Trahan was the third coach in as many years at North Catholic.

"The girls, especially the upperclassmen, were reluctant and hesitant to trust us," Trahan said. "I tried to assure them that we were committed to the program, and not here for just one season. But it's hard to convince a group of teenagers who had experienced so much change over the previous two years."

Trahan also had to deal with a new baby.

"I was nine months pregnant when I accepted the job in July [of 2007]," said Trahan, who also began a teaching job at St. Edmund's Academy. "Having a new baby was an added strain. My husband actually ran the team more than I did. The first year was a real challenge, but also very rewarding."

Despite the shortage of players, the Trahans led North Catholic to a 6-6 record in Section 2-A, which was good enough to earn the Trojans a WPIAL playoff berth, as they tied with Brentwood and Bishop Canevin for third place.

The Trojans even posted a 3-0 win against Union in the preliminary round, but were defeated in the first round by No. 2 seed Elderton, 3-0.

"The toughest thing about last season is that I didn't have time to build a rapport with the girls," Trahan said. "There was no time to get to know them.

"It's much different coming into this season. I know what the kids are capable of doing and they know what we expect of them."

The two weeks of preparation for the upcoming season were also different.

"We started two-a-day practices last year, which was something completely foreign to them," Trahan said. "This year, we had 100 percent participation from everybody. Things have been running so much smoother than last year."

North Catholic's season begins Saturday, as the Trojans play host to a 10-team tournament. The other nine entries are Beaver County Christian, Fox Chapel, Seton-LaSalle, Springdale, Bishop Carroll, Bishop Guilfoyle, St. Marys, Karns City, and Wilkinsburg.

The Trojans return to Section 2-A, but the alignment has changed. Defending section and WPIAL champion Seton-LaSalle has moved up to Class AA, while Bishop Canevin has moved to Section 6-A. The two have been replaced by Northgate and Sto-Rox.

"We could be the team to beat in the section this year now that Seton-LaSalle is out of the picture," Trahan said.

"Vincentian, last year's section runner-up, was hit hard by graduation losses and has a new coach."

Trahan has five returning lettermen, including a pair of setters: 5-7 senior Mariah Kasun and 5-7 junior Shayla Mitrik.

"We didn't have a setter when I began practice," Trahan said.

"On the second day of practice, I choose Mariah and Shayla to be our setters. They were the most athletic and most experienced members of the team. Both improved as the season went on. Both have provided great leadership."

The other three returning letter-winners are 5-10 senior middle hitter Lauren Savulchak, 5-5 senior outside hitter Jess Lang and 5-10 sophomore middle hitter Kendall Hoffman.

Newcomers to the varsity are 5-10 senior middle hitter Stephanie Kurtz, 5-7 junior outside hitter Cara Carson, 5-8 freshman outside hitter Megan Prybyl, 5-5 freshman setter Nikki Stark, 5-6 freshman outside hitter Becky Stark, 5-10 freshman middle hitter Hayley Sullivan and 5-7 freshman outside hitter Lynzi Mueller.

"Five members of our varsity are freshmen," Trahan said. "All five will be called upon to make a contribution, but they lack experience."

North Catholic begins its section schedule on Sept. 2 at Vincentian.