JACKSON TWP — Something happens to Tatum Poirier when she steps onto the volleyball court.

Her eyes narrow. Her jaw locks. Her fists clench in anticipation of the next ferocious kill she’s about to put on Seneca Valley’s opposition.

Poirier’s competitive fire is an inferno during matches.

“I’m a Scorpio,” Poirier explains, chuckling. “Scorpios are so competitive. When I get on the court, I’m not fooling around.”

Neither are the Raiders this season.

Seneca Valley is blessed with a deep and talented team. With that also comes high expectations.

“I always have high hopes,” said Karen Martini, who is entering her 11th season as the Raiders’ coach.

And those hopes in many ways start with the senior hitter Poirier, a Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association All-State selection in Class AAA last season.

She will fill the shoes left by graduate Melissa Carter, who was also a PVCA All-State selection last season.

“Tatum has gotten to the point where ... she has stepped out of the shadow of her sister (Madeline Poirier),” Martini said. “When Tatum was a sophomore, she was a little nervous and played with a boatload of talent. Now it’s her turn to step up.

“When it’s time to get down to business, she becomes a different person,” Martini added. “As soon as she walks inside those lines, she’s very intense and really doesn’t get rattled.”

That will be important for a team that plays a tough non-section schedule before getting into a grueling conference season.

But there is ample talent around Poirier.

Seniors Bella Seman, who is headed to play volleyball at Elon University, and Maria Alfano, who will play at Robert Morris University next season, anchor a solid lineup that also includes juniors Maddie McDonough, Hannah White and Emily Devlin.

“I can’t even tell you how excited we are,” Poirier said. “We’re always excited every year.”

The PIAA moves to four classes instead of three and the Raiders find themselves surrounded by familiar foes in Section 1-AAAA with Butler, Shaler, North Hills and perennial powers North Allegheny and Pine-Richland.

Martini has also scheduled a challenging slate of non-section matches.

“We’re going to find out about our team pretty quickly,” Martini said.

Some other things to watch for this volleyball season:

Yellowjackets will sting again: Another team with very high hopes is Freeport.

The Yellowjackets are coming off a WPIAL Class AA title and are loaded again.

“There are certain teams as a coach that you really like,” said Tom Phillips, who is beginning his 16th season as coach. “This is a team I really like.”

And there is a lot to like.

Despite the graduation losses of Zoe Pawlak, Morgan Ruppersberger and Meredith Turdel, Freeport has an emerging force at the net in junior Hannah Mason.

The Yellowjackets also have a solid senior class led by outside hitter Maddie Christy and setter Maggie Ward.

“I’m really happy with our program,” Phillips said. “We have a very strong junior class and the depth we have this year is huge. Our freshman class is the best freshman class I’ve ever had.”

Freeport will be challenged this year by its non-section schedule.

The Yellowjackets jump right into the fray this afternoon with a home match against North Allegheny and will also play Seneca Valley, Conneaut, Hickory, Armstrong and Knoch this season.

“(Today) is a good game for us to see where we’re at,” Phillips said.

Knights ready to rumble in new section. Knoch also has a talented roster that could make some noise this season.

Middle hitter Sarah Armahizer, a junior, anchors a balanced team that also features juniors Abby Pospisil (setter), Bethany Nulph (hitter), Abby Kopac (hitter) and Carly Bozzo (libero) and senior Alley Kerkan (defensive specialist).

The Knights find themselves in a starkly different section. Now in Class AAA, Knoch will face Hampton, Mars, New Castle, Lincoln Park, Central Valley and Blackhawk.

“We start with Mars right off the bat,” said Knoch coach Diane Geist, who is in her 31st season. “Then we have a big game with Central Valley two days later.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Geist added. “We need to work on making our level of play higher so we can face these challenges in our section.

New coach in Slippery Rock: Former all-state player and Slippery Rock High Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Danielle (Hogue) Busi takes over the Rockets’ program with the hopes of returning them to prominence in District 10.

Falcons had heavy grad losses: A-C Valley lost five impact seniors from a team that reached the District 9 Class A championship tournament last, but have a star to build around in junior Josey Terwilliger.

Eagles ready for next step: Grove City is also looking to build on a strong season in 2015. The Eagles have a solid nucleus returning in seniors Ashley Jackson, Khalidah Muhammad, Hannah Santom and Halle Culmer.