Last year, in his first season at the helm of Hempfield's boys' volleyball team, head coach Mike Vogel faced the daunting task of rebuilding a two-time defending state champion from scratch.

And this season, with just about everyone from the 1998 team back in the fold, Hempfield appears poised to make a run at its fourth state championship in six years.

The Knights, who won state titles in 1994, 1996 and 1997 under former coach Ryan Strait, are currently the No. 1 team in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association statewide poll, a position they've held since the start of the season.

"It's a mixed blessing," says Vogel of the ranking. "It's really just opinion. It doesn't mean anything, but it pumps up the ego a little. I'd rather start low and work my way up than start at the top. There's nowhere to go from there but down.

"As long as you realize you have to keep playing at that level every day and not start believing what you read, you're fine."

So far, Hempfield has been much better than just "fine."

The Knights, who beat Manheim Township 15-3, 15-13 Thursday night, are currently 6-0 in Lancaster-Lebanon League play and 16-0 overall as the regular season approaches its halfway point.

Last weekend at the Lake Lehman Tournament, the Knights defeated defending state champion Souderton for the second time this season, winning 11-4, 5-11, 11-8 in the semifinals on their way to the tournament championship.

Hempfield also owns a victory over defending District 3 champion and L-L League rival Penn Manor, which is ranked 19th in the PVCA poll.

"So far, so good," says co-captain Randy Wood. "The (ranking) was a big surprise to all of us, but deep down we know we're a real good team. No one wants to talk about it, but we know."

One of four seniors on this year's team, Wood was a reserve on Hempfield's two-time state championship squad. He and fellow senior co-captain Jered Seibert know what it's like to wear that No. 1 bullseye.

"Since they ranked us No. 1 a lot of teams have grudges against us," Seibert says. "Everyone strives a lot harder to beat us. It's going to be hard to maintain that status all year, because a lot of teams are going to be more and more irritated with the fact that we're still No. 1."

Hempfield's attack centers around the foursome of outside hitters Wood and junior Derek Schultz, junior setter Randy Paules and junior opposite Patrick Shawaryn.

Wood leads the team in kills with 117, while Schultz has racked up 86 and Shawaryn has 66. Paules sets up most of the Knights' points, leading the team with 249 assists.

"Our team is built around those four," says Vogel. "They're the nucleus of our attack. The other two we put on the floor depends on the situation. We have two defensive specialists and two middle guys."

Seibert, senior Jesse Porreca, junior Adam Greenawault and junior Rob Fisher all rotate in to fill the fifth and sixth starting positions.

Seibert and Porreca come in to provide defense, while Greeenawault (30 blocks, 36 kills) and Fisher (21 blocks, 14 aces) provide offensive help.

The tallest of those players is 6-2 Greenawault. No one else in the starting lineup is over 6-feet tall, so the Knights have to rely on quickness and ball movement to offset their lack of height.

"We're not big, but we're extrememly fast and work with a fair amount of precision," Vogel says. "That's fun to watch, but if the timing's a little bit off we're in trouble."

Seibert thinks it's also a matter of playing intelligently.

"We have to play smarter than other teams," he says. "It becomes more of a mental game than just killing the ball. We have to get good ball movement and look for the open spots on the court."

The Knights developed their mental toughness last year when they were forced to grow up in a hurry. Without any proven leaders, Hempfield flourished under fire, saving its best volleyball for the end of the season to finish 19-7 overall.

"We had two seniors on the team last year, and one of them was injured for virtually the whole season," Vogel says. "We were an extremely young squad. Of the nine that played, five were sophomores, one was a junior and one was a freshman."

"I knew if we got a little bit of luck and peaked at the right time that we'd do OK. Our goal was to make it to the Final 16, and anything beyond that was a bonus."

The Knights finished second to Penn Manor in both the league and district championship tournaments, but they played the Comets tough both times.

"We ended up second in the District, two points away from winning it," remembers Vogel. "That was Penn Manor's experience and our inexperience coming into play. We lost, but I was tickled pink."

Hempfield went on to the regional round of the PIAA tournament before falling to Lake Lehman and Lower Merion.

The experience was a good one for the youthful Knights, according to Seibert.

"We learned a lot last year," he says. "We made it to Regionals, which showed us what it's going to be like for us this year, what challenges we'll have to face."

One of the biggest challenges facing the Knights could be staying focused now that they are known as the state's top team.

"We have the talent to get back there (to the state finals)," says Vogel. "We're going to need to stay focused. The wild card of course is injuries."