BUTLER TWP — Coming off a high school volleyball career that included two WPIAL Class AA championships, Freeport's Brittney Bianco figured she was ready for the next level.

A hip injury derailed all of that.

“I was running the 400 (meters in track) and I just tore it,” Bianco said.

She originally attended Slippery Rock University and was planning to try out for the Rock volleyball team. Her doctor had other ideas.

“He told me that if I tried playing volleyball, I could damage the hip to where it would need surgery,” Bianco said. “So I decided not to play.”

After attending SRU for two years, Bianco transferred to Butler County Community College. She went through physical therapy and began playing pick-up volleyball games.

Feeling good again, she decided to “give it a go” and play volleyball at BC3. Pioneer coach Rob Snyder is glad she did.

“She's the best setter I've ever had,” Snyder said.

That's high praise coming from a guy sporting a 352-119 career record in 19 years as BC3 volleyball coach.

“Brittney works so hard and she goes hard all of the time,” Snyder said. “She's climbing our all-time assists chart and she hasn't played as many games as other girls in front of her on that list.

“She puts her time in on the court, she loves competition, she works hard in the weight room ... As an athlete, she's the total package.”

Bianco has 1,051 assists in her two years with the Pioneers — third on the program's all-time list — and trails second-place Jess Prelec by just 37. The Pioneers have five matches left on the schedule this year before the WPCC Tournament.

Nicole Sebastion holds the BC3 record of 1,360 assists, set back in the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

“I haven't experienced any problems,” Bianco said of her hip. “I had some soreness in an ankle last year, but I'm OK otherwise.”

That's saying something, given the way Bianco plays the game.

While the Pioneers don't keep records on digs, the statistic on players keeping a ball alive by diving on the floor to save it, Bianco gets more than her share.

“You just have to accept the fact you're going to get on the floor and save the ball,” Bianco said. “That's first contact. An assist can come from a first contact, but it usually comes from the second contact.

“You lay out and go get it,” she said of an opponent's kill attempt. “That's part of the position.”

Bianco ranked 10th in all of NJCAA division III with 8.75 assists per set last season. She was named MVP of the NJCAA Region XX Tournament.

This year, primarily playing with a new group of girls, Bianco is 15th in the nation with 7.68 assists per set.

“Last year, I had to bring her along, into the mix with a group of experienced players,” Snyder said. “She learned the way I wanted us to do things on the court.

“This year, she knows all of that. I leave her alone to run the show out there. I trust her decisions. Brittney coaches an age 17 or 18 club team, too, so I pretty much have another coach on the floor.”

The Pioneers finished 21-3 last season. They are 13-4 so far this year.

“It has been a little different playing with more inexperienced girls this season after all the experience we had last year,” Bianco admitted. “But as long as everyone gives her all, I'm OK with it.

“We've definitely gotten better as the year has gone on. I think we can do well in the tournament. It's been a fun time.”

Bianco puts on a show that has even impressed opposing coaches. She had 21 assists in a sweep of Pitt-Titusville this year, producing five kills with well-placed deflections in the same match.

“She has outstanding hands,” Pitt-Titusville coach Vic Carr said in a statement. “Very instinctive. She can anticipate the ball.

“Some athletes have that special 'it,' and she has 'it' as a setter.”

Snyder agrees wholeheartedly.

“She was hobbling around a bit on that bad ankle last year, but wouldn't let anybody look at it,” he said. “She played through it all year. She is super tough.

“Brittney just loves volleyball. She plays all the time, outdoors, indoors. She never quits training or working at it.”