BC3 volleyball unit takes aim at titles
BUTLER TWP — Compiling a 16-11 record and reaching the conference championship game would be a pretty good season for most.
It’s sub-par for the Butler County Community College women’s volleyball program.
The Pioneers have not had a losing season since 2000. They also haven’t won a conference title in three years.
“We’re not used to that,” 17th-year coach Rob Snyder admitted. “That’s a drought for us and it’s something we want to fix.”
Numbers have been a problem for this team in recent years, but not this fall. The Pioneers have 12 players on the squad, including three setters.
Three freshmen — Lexie Graham from Knoch, Baylee Verner from Butler and Mary Romano from Seneca Valley — are capable of handling the setter’s role.
“ I usually have to scramble to find one setter every year,” Snyder said. “Graham and Verner are very capable of stepping right in and handling that spot.
“Mary Romano joined us recently and is one of our most versatile players. She can play middle, outside or be a back-up setter.”
The lone player back from last year is sophomore outside hitter Alexis Schrecengost from Freeport, who Snyder described as his best player from a year ago.
She will have plenty of company out there as sophomore Amanda Hewitt from Freeport — who did not play last season — freshmen Cassie Berteotti from Mars, Bri Bedillion from Eden Christian and Kendra Kepple from Karns City are outside players.
“We have a battle for playing time going on for our outside spots,” Snyder said. “We’re not used to that luxury, either. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Freshmen Macy Smolic from Freeport and Christina Davis from Ford City should man the middle positions with Romano. Rachel Suddoth is a freshman defender from Seneca Valley and Bella Chiodo, a freshman from Grove City, is the Pioneers’ libero this year.
“We didn’t even have a libero last year,” Snyder said.
BC3 won’t have to deal with perennial power Potomac State this year. The team that defeated the Pioneers in the past three conference title games is now an independent and no longer a part of the league.
Potomac State has dormitories, scholarships and “our league just wasn’t competitive enough for them anymore,” Snyder said.
When BC3 gets into the Region XX Tournament, it will likely run up against Lorain (Ohio) Community College. Lorain CC won the region last year and wound up No. 2 in the country, losing the title game in five sets.
“They don’t have another team in their region, so they slide into ours,” Snyder explained. “They had 16 really good players and if half of them return, they’ll be tough.
“We have a lot of growing to do through the course of the season, but our plan is to be able to compete with them for the region title. You always need to be playing your best volleyball at the end of the season.”
The Pioneers open the season with their own Earl Bird Tournament Saturday at the BC3 Field House.
