BUTLER TWP — First, it didn't have a coach. Then it didn't have any players.

Now the Butler County Community College women's volleyball program has a fifth consecutive state championship.

The Pioneers finished the season 24-4 — 17-1 in Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference play — under first-year coach Jon Rogerson.

Rogerson stepped in after veteran coach Rob Snyder stepped down shortly before the beginning of preseason camp.

Only two players — setter Brittany Beatty from Saegertown and libero Jasmin Mehelich from Butler — returned from the Pioneers' fourth state title team.

"We did some serious recruiting and wound up with nine girls,"Rogerson said. "Really, I'm not surprised we did so well. We won our first game before we even had a team practice."

The rest of the Pioneers' squad consisted of Seneca Valley graduate Lindsey Skorupan, Knoch graduates Beka Ogershok and Kari Pizer, and Butler graduates Kelsey Rice, Ashley Nocera, Samantha Karns and Heather Slagel.

Players' backgrounds were varied. Skorupan was part of the Raiders' 2004 volleyball team that won the WPIALchampionship. Slagle stopped playing volleyball at Butler after her sophomore year.

Karns and Nocera were basketball players at Butler and also were on the BC3 women's basketball squad. They were recruited for volleyball by Beatty, who also plays BC3 basketball.

Neither Karns nor Nocera ever played high school volleyball.

"I still don't know anything about the technical terms or structure of the sport,"Karns said of volleyball. "Brittany asked me to play and it looked like fun.

"We may not have had a lot of true volleyball players, but we had athletes. We learned how to play together and we used our athleticism to win."

Karns played the front row and proved to be a valuable middle hitter.

"She came a long way for having never played volleyball,"Rogerson said. "Sam led the team in blocks.

"I never kept accurate statistics on stuff like that. We were just focused on winning games."

Nocera contributed that way by playing the back row and specializing on defense.

"I was surprised we did as well as we did," she said. "We worked hard and we had fun. The girls on the team who had experience playing the sport helped teach those of us who didn't.

"Lindsey helped a lot with her experience. She made everyone playing around her feel comfortable."

Skorupan originally went to Kent State University for volleyball, but left there after a semester and resurfaced at BC3.

She missed the first two weeks of this season before joining the program.

"I had no idea what to expect,"Skorupan said. "I knew they had a good team here and all, but I knew nothing about the caliber of play in the league or on the team. It was a mystery to me.

"I was impressed with how quickly these girls learned to play together. I enjoyed being part of it."

Skorupan is leaning toward attending Seton Hill next year and playing volleyball there.

Rogerson said the friendships the players developed contributed to the team's on-court success.

"This was such a fast, hectic season, but these girls all became friends," he said. "They genuinely enjoyed practicing together, hanging out together and supporting each other."

Next year, only three players return to the Pioneers' volleyball program. Karns and Nocera are two of them.

"I'd love to play again. It was a blast,"Karns said.

"If we have a team, I'll be back,"Nocera promised.

Rogerson says there will be a team.

"We just have to go back out and recruit," he said. "That's the way it works at this level. The players don't find you. You have to go find the players."