One day. Four WPIAL titles.

That's what Saturday yielded for Butler County.

Mars and North Catholic both won district crowns in girls soccer while Knoch and Freeport earned titles in girls volleyball.

Each featured an interesting subplot.

Due to injury, Knoch had been without its two all-state players — Hannah Rowe and Kennedy Christy — for the first two rounds of the playoffs. I was skeptical of the Knights' chances to advance without the services of such high-caliber players. Rowe returned for the semifinals and starred in the championship victory against Thomas Jefferson, but Knoch has valuable depth on its roster and it had just as much to do with the title, the school's third straight, as anything else.

Undefeated Freeport breezed through the regular season and first two rounds of the postseason, only to drop the first two sets to Avonworth in the semifinals and North Catholic in the championship match. But the Yellowjackets recovered just in time in both cases, winning three straight against staunch competition to win the program's first WPIAL crown in three years.

Many of Mars' current soccer players tasted defeat in the finals the last two years. A dominating performance Saturday against Plum has the Planets atop the district once again, the sixth time in their history. More hardware for an incredibly strong and consistent program.

Just three years ago, North Catholic was 5-14. Then came trips to the WPIAL semifinals and state quarterfinals a year later. A drama-filled, 1-0 win over Yough in overtime Saturday brought the Trojanettes their very first WPIAL title.

Winning the WPIAL is a high that is difficult for some teams to come down from and succeed in the state playoffs, which begin Tuesday for all of these teams. It's a very quick turnaround.

Also entering the PIAA tournament as a district champion is Karns City girls soccer and North Catholic volleyball is also a team to watch. Disappointment in the district playoffs often spawns a strong run at states. Freeport won a state volleyball title in 2017 after settling for runner-up in the WPIAL.

Great story lines, great games and great athletes — all are sure to add to what has already been a memorable fall sports season in Butler County.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle