What a difference not only a week, but just a matter of days makes. In their regional tournament held a week ago last Saturday, Pleasant Valley's Lady Raiders had Good Hope on the ropes, winning two games to one and were ahead 18-14 in the fourth game of the five game series.

Some mistakes were made and Pleasant Valley lost the game and their momentum losing the next game also. Instead of coming out on top as regional champions, Pleasant Valley came in second.

In sub-state action held last week at Pleasant Valley, the Lady Raiders looked like a different team, taking care of business and taking care of Holly Pond in three straight games, 25-19, 25-12, and 27-25.

In the third game the Lady Raiders had to come from behind twice, both times by six points, to tie up the game and get the eventual win.

The difference in the play of the Lady Raiders over just a few days?

"We worked on our mental game, staying strong mentally and playing solid and playing consistent," said Lady Raiders Head Coach Dana Bryant.

The strong team that showed up at sub-state earned the Lady Raiders the right to return to the Elite Eight Volleyball State Championships to be held at Pelham starting on Wednesday.

Pleasant Valley (31-25) will take on No. 1 state ranked Bayside Academy (47-17), winner of seven straight state championships Wednesday at 2pm at the Pelham Civic Center.

Who the Lady Raiders play doesn't bother Coach Bryant.

"It doesn't matter who is on the other side, we should be able to play our game no matter what," Bryant said.

Bryant said that the Lady Raiders will continue to practice the way they did last week. "We are going to continue to work on being strong mentally and playing solid and consistent."

The Lady Raiders looked like a state caliber team against Holly Pond. Senior Whitney Glass led a strong defensive back row effort with 32 digs. Junior Jessie Kate Stewart added 24 digs and Jessica Glass 17.

Stewart, a powerhouse on the front row, had 20 kills and three blocks. Helping out Stewart were sophomores Payton Lewis and Jessica Boozer, both hard-hitting left handed hitters that can confuse defenses. Lewis had 23 kills and Boozer 13 in the winning effort.

The Lady Raiders will have to play their best ball, once again, to beat powerful Bayside Academy. Coach Bryant predicted last year at the Elite Eight that her girls would be back and would be even stronger. The girls seem to agree.

Ashley Bryant, daughter of the coach and a top-notch setter, says that while the team misses some of the girls that graduated last year, that this years players are filling their shoes pretty well. "Our hitters are stronger than last year and we have improved a lot," says Ashley.

Whitney Glass who is going to the Elite Eight for the second time said, "This year has been a building year for our defense and we've picked it up a lot. We've missed Miranda Smith and Emily Fincher (graduated) a lot on defense but we've pulled it together now and are really picking it up.

"Our hitters are a lot better than last year."

Always smiling junior Jessie Kate Stewart, also going to the Elite Eight for her second year agrees. "We have more hitters this year. We had to pick up our defense but I think our defense is stronger now."

Still a young team the veteran players feel that they can help out the younger players with some advice. "We have to relax and pick it right back up," says Stewart.

"It's a whole new world down there," says Ashley Bryant. "Just do your best and play like there is no tomorrow."