There was a time when the Parkland volleyball team had its backs pressed against the wall.

Against much of the top competition across the entire state in Saturday's Spartan Invitational at Garden Spot High School, the Trojans faced a 12-9 deficit in Game 3 of the championship round against Hempfield, last year's PIAA Class AAA champion.

But the Lady Trojans, who entered 2014 ranked No. 4 in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association preseason rankings, rallied to win Game 3, 15-13. That win secured their first ever championship in the Spartan Invitational on Saturday after participating in it for the last eight years.

The Lady Trojans are now ranked No. 1 in this week's state volleyball rankings.

"This team has a lot of character and resolve," head coach Mike Krause said. "They just love to play, and they like challenges. They just pulled together, and believed in themselves and made plays."

Parkland won Game 1 against Hempfield, 25-20, before the defending champs used a 25-19 win in Game 2 to force the decisive third game.

"It's a prestigious tournament," Krause said. "It was loaded. To finish on top of that, it was great."

In all, the tournament featured 20 of the best teams from the area. Six top 10 teams from Class AAA in the preseason poll played in the tournament, while three of the top ten in Class AA did as well.

After advancing out of pool play early on Saturday, the Lady Trojans downed Cumberland Valley (last year's PIAA Class AAA runner up) in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, the Lady Trojans turned around a 25-22 Game 1 loss to overcome Berks Catholic in three sets. Berks Catholic was ranked No. 6 in AA in the state preseason poll.

While it's still plenty early in the season, Parkland's showing against the top teams in the state certainly says a lot about Krause's squad.

The most impressive sight Krause has seen has been the mental toughness from his players, many of whom are taking on new positions from previous years.

"We're in the early part of the season, so we're training them tired," Krause said. "We did not change our workout routine, as far as they're coming in tired on weekends from lifting and long practices. The part that impressed me is the mental focus is hard, and they were able to maintain it. We played 15 sets on Saturday."

Junior Avery Perosa is entering her first season as the Lady Trojans' libero, while junior Siena Salvaggio is now the team's six-rotation player. Junior Kristin Krause is a part of their 5-1 attack.

Kristen Keck, one of just two Lady Trojan seniors, is occupying the defensive specialist position, and a number of underclassmen in sophomores Morgan Sherwin and Sam Graver are splitting time on the left side.

"The best thing is we have basically everybody playing new positions," Krause said. "We moved [senior] Brooke Robertson to the outside. We have two brand new middles in [junior] Erika Foose and [junior] Sam Webber.

"Nine of those 10 kids touch at least nine feet or higher. Erika Foose touches 9-10, and Sienna Salvaggio touched 10 feet. We're trying to use our athleticism."

The Lady Trojans continue to run through league play with little trouble. Now 3-0 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC), the Lady Trojans have not found themselves on the losing side of a regular season conference match since October of 2009.

"Regular season-wise, we have won 70 straight games," Krause said. "So the kids are able to handle that challenge, and I'm sure it's going to continue to be a challenge."