Alea Kennedy can be found most evenings in front of a volleyball net at Moniteau High School, bumping, setting and spiking with the best of them.

Only Kennedy is not a player for the Warriors. She's their first-year coach.

Just 22 years old and a recent graduate of Gannon University, the memories of her playing days at Moniteau are still very fresh in her mind because those days weren't so long ago.

Kennedy now finds herself coaching a set of players not much younger than she is - and one of them is her sister.

"They are 16 and 17," Kennedy said. "I am 22. We're close in age. But I came out from the beginning and told them the rules, what I expect from them, and I've had no problems or disrespect."

Kennedy works as a risk analyst for a company in Pittsburgh during the day. When the volleyball job opened at Moniteau, she had to do some risk management of her own.

Ultimately, Kennedy said she felt the rewards would far outweigh the risks.

"When the position arose, I was very interested in it," Kennedy said. "When I played, I developed a passion for the game, and I have a great group of girls who I want to have the same passion."

Kennedy is a hands-on coach. She'll tell her players how something should be done and also show them.

But she also knows there is a fine line between coach and buddy.

"I'm surprised how comfortable I am just coaching them," Kennedy said.

Kennedy's sister, Ashley, who is a senior on the team, had no trepidation when she found out her older sis was going to also be her volleyball coach.

Ashley doesn't call her sister "Alea" at practice. It's just "Coach."

"You don't refer to a coach by her first name unless she wants you to," Ashley Kennedy said. "It's just a habit.

"I wasn't worried when she took the job," she added. "She's a great person, and she put her heart into everything she does."

Alea Kennedy still lives at home with her parents and sister.

But there are no interesting dinnertime conversations. Alea Kennedy isn't there for them.

The coach drives from Pittsburgh to practice and doesn't get home until 9:30 p.m. Those hours will get later when Moniteau visits such locales as Rimersburg during the season.

The travel and time constraints were the main negative in Kennedy taking the job.

"At times, I get up in the morning and say, 'Ah, this is too much,'" Kennedy said. "But then I get to practice and see the girls and have fun. It's only for three months and it is a great experience."

Kennedy, who played for the Warriors until she graduated in 2000, is taking over a program that had a sharp dip in its smooth run of success the past half-decade.

Moniteau notched just three wins a season after winning the District 9 title. When Kennedy was a player under Sue Scialabba, the Warriors were consistent winners.

Kennedy believes that can happen again.

But she will try to get the Warriors back to those winning ways in her own, distinct manner.

She won't be looking over her shoulder at coaches past.

"I have my own style," Kennedy said. "I'm not a real yeller. I'm very firm and I discipline, but I'm also very controlled. They know there is a time and place for everything."

The time is now for Kennedy and the place is Moniteau.