BUTLER TWP — From four-time state championship team to no team at all?

The Butler County Community College women's volleyball program came perilously close to taking that route before Jon Rogerson pulled it out of the fire.

"They weren't even going to have a team,"the Butler resident said. "They had the (coaching) position posted for over a month with no takers."

Rogerson, 22, a senior finance major at Slippery Rock University, recently graduated from BC3 and played volleyball at Butler High School. He has been the junior varsity boys volleyball coach at Seneca Valley the past two years under Jeff Beavers.

"Jeff was also a high school referee and I got to know him when I played at Butler,"Rogerson said. "When I graduated from high school, I sent him an e-mail offering to help out with his program.

"He's the one who told me about the BC3 coaching situation. He convinced me to give it a shot."

BC3 has been to the Region XXfinals and won the state championship each of the last four seasons under Rob Snyder. The Pioneers finished fifth at nationals in 2002.

Also the athletic director at the college, Snyder said he felt burned out after last season.

"I've been doing too much," he said. "I coach my Club Renaissance team in the winter and spring and with my other duties here ... I got tired.

"I'm into volleyball so much, I began to take it too seriously. I had to take a step back and discover why I got into coaching in the first place.

"Leaving this program after so much success ... it was the hardest decision I ever had to make,"Snyder added.

Snyder is now helping out the Seneca Valley volleyball program and said he's in the process of "looking for a new challenge to refuel myself."

Rogerson said Snyder was relieved when he inquired about taking over the program.

"Rob built volleyball into the most successful athletic program on campus,"Rogerson said. "He didn't want to see it die."

Only two players — setter Brittany Beatty from Saegertown and libero (defensive specialist) Jasmin Mehelich of Butler — are back from last year's team.

When Rogerson stepped in to take the reins of the program, he needed players — fast. He took on the position Aug. 25, one week before the team's first workout.

"Rob handed me a list of 15 names of prospective players he knew about,"Rogerson said. "I called all 15 one day, ran my phone bill up, and found out a few of the girls were no longer interested.

"Three of them had jobs, a few others had moved on and I was down to five players."

Rogerson asked those five to help him recruit other players so the Pioneers could field a team. He wound up with a nine-player roster for a season-opening triangular.

BC3 defeated Pitt-Titusville and Potomac State regardless.

"We didn't even have a practice together,"Rogerson said. "The girls just showed up, played and won. Our mood as a team was much better after those matches because we saw our potential on the court."

Joining co-captains Beatty and Mehelich on the Pioneers roster are Kelsey Rice, Sam Karns, Ashley Nocera and Kayla Waggett of Butler, Beka Ogershok and Kari Pizer of Knoch, and Jenny Conners of Karns City.

Rice played at Gannon University last year. Karns and Nocera are former Butler basketball payers who had never played volleyball before. Waggett saw the team practicing in the gym one day and decided to give the sport a try.

"She said it looked like fun," Rogerson said. "We get a few players that way or through word-of-mouth. I think our roster will get bigger yet."

Rogerson's assistant coach is Katherine Smith, a player on last year's team.

"We're going to be flexible with these girls," Rogerson said. "We're keeping it fun for now. I'm sure they'll get more serious about it as the team comes together."