PITTSBURGH — Butler County and the Renaissance Volleyball Club out of Pittsburgh made their presence felt at the recent Girls Volleyball Junior National Championships in New Orleans.

The Renaissance Club qualified three teams for the national tourney. Its 17-under team placed seventh, the 13-under and 18-under squads both placing 11th.

“It was a celebration of volleyball,” said Butler resident Meghan Lucas, coach of the U-13 team. “We're talking about 84 courts inside the New Orleans Convention Center, which stretched for five blocks.

“The spectacle was incredible. Our girls had that deer in headlights look when we first walked in, but we quickly settled down and played well.”

Lucas' U-13 team competed in a 48-team bracket. The coach's daughter, Butler eighth-grader Gabrielle Lucas, was one of the players.

The U-13 squad placed second in its six-team pool, which also consisted of squads from Northern California, Southern California, Cleveland, Oklahoma and Missouri. It then finished second in a three-team pool against teams from Iowa and Texas.

“The team that won our pool — Northern California — wound up winning the whole thing,” Lucas said. “They only beat us, 28-26, so our girls showed they could play with anybody.”

Each team presented gifts to each other before every match. Lucas' squad gave Terrible Towels to the opposition.

One of those foes, of course, was Cleveland.

“One of their coaches couldn't believe they had to accept Terrible Towels,” Lucas said, laughing. “The coach jokingly threw it to the ground and we promptly defeated that team.

“By treating the Towel that way, we joked that they were cursed.”

Freeport's Zoe Pawlak played for the Renaissance U-17 team, as did Julia Zimmerman of Mars and Melissa Carter of Seneca Valley.

Two other Seneca Valley players — Bella Seman and Maria Alfono — played for the U-16 team representing Pittsburgh Elite at nationals.

Sydney Martini, daughter of Seneca Valley coach Karen Martini, played for the Renaissance U-18 team. It was her third consecutive trip to nationals, going to Dallas two years ago with a U-16 team, to Minneapolis last year with a U-17 team.

Martini is headed to Duquesne to major in biology and play volleyball next year.

“These summer club teams really helped my growth as an all-around player,” Martini said. “All of our players on this U-18 team are going to Division I (college) teams, so this is helping to prepare me for the next level.”

Ball State, Notre Dame, Duke, Cornell, Elon, Ohio University and Connecticut are among the collegiate programs getting players from the Renaissance U-18 squad.

“We began practicing in December and our first tournament was in January, so we've been playing together for a while,” Martini said.

Coach Martini said numerous collegiate coaches were on hand in New Orleans watching the national competition.

“It's their best way to scout the top players,” the coach said. “The best players in the nation are there going against each other.

“No doubt, these tournaments have elevated Sydney's game. They're very motivating to the players.”

Lucas coached the Renaissance Club's U-13 to nationals for the first time this year.

“It was a tremendous experience,” Lucas said. “The stands are filled with people and the atmosphere is amazing. Those kids had their first real chance to play on a big stage and they handled it extremely well.”