(Butler, PA) Anora Robare had 21 assists and Josie Russo 12 kills Saturday as the fourth-ranked Butler County Community College volleyball team won the program’s ninth conference and sixth regional titles in a row, extended its record undefeated streak to 22 matches and will contend for a district crown in North Carolina next weekend.
Virginia Recchia added nine digs and Molly Bissell a season-high seven service aces as the Pioneers swept the Community College of Allegheny County 25-7, 25-3 and 25-12 at BC3’s Field House. The single match determined the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference and National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 champion.
BC3 (22-0) will visit Sandhills Community College (34-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Pinehurst, N.C., for the Mid-Atlantic District title.
Sandhills beat Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, Hudson, N.C., (15-25), 25-19, 27-25 and 25-18 on Saturday in the NJCAA Division III Region 10 championship.
The Mid-Atlantic District winner Saturday will earn one of 12 automatic berths to the 16-team national championship tournament Nov. 14-16 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
BC3 is ranked No. 4 among 87 NJCAA Division III programs and is the only undefeated team in the Top 15.
Sandhills, the winner of nine consecutive matches, is ranked No. 6 and Caldwell (23-4) was No. 7.
“We have accomplished everything that we have wanted to accomplish so far. You set your goals and you try to attain them. And we have. And now we move on to the next goal.”
Rob Snyder, BC3 volleyball head coach

Its sweep Saturday was the 16th in 2024 for BC3, whose record is the best ever under 25-year head coach Rob Snyder.
“I feel pretty good about this,” Snyder said. “We have accomplished everything that we have wanted to accomplish so far. You set your goals and you try to attain them. And we have. And now we move on to the next goal.”
CCAC defeated Penn Highlands Community College, Johnstown, 25-18, (21-25), 25-12 and 25-12 on Saturday in a semifinal at BC3’s Field House to advance to the dual-championship final against the Pioneers.
“They are the No. 4 team in the country,” CCAC head coach Scott Smithley said. “There are no holes in the starting lineup. They have good ball control, good offense, good decision-making. They are a disciplined team.”

“We had a purpose”
BC3’s Nina Szymanski and Johnna Hill on Saturday were named to the WPCC all-conference team for a second year in a row, and were joined by first-time selections Robare and Russo.
Russo was chosen Saturday as the Region 20 tournament’s most valuable player. The Pioneers’ Lexi Ruckdeschel was picked for a second time to the Region 20 all-tournament team and was joined by first-time choices Molly Bissell and Robare.
“We came in wanting to win, wanting to keep the tradition of winning championships,” Russo said. “We had a purpose. We wanted to start (the postseason) strong and go down to North Carolina.”
The Pioneers on Saturday moved their record in sets to 66-7.
“I think we played amazing,” Robare said. “We had good communication. We have great hitters. A great defense. We had great serves. Those things really factored into it.”

“Now we have to focus on the next competition and do what we have to do to win.”
Lexi Ruckdeschel, BC3 volleyball player

“The speed is very fast”
The Pioneers are 1-1 against Sandhills.
BC3 beat the Flyers 3-2 in a 2021 district final en route to a sixth-place finish in the national championship tournament. BC3 also placed sixth in 2009, and fifth in 2002, the program’s only other appearance.
Sandhills defeated the Pioneers 3-1 in 2022.
Hill was selected as an NJCAA All-American in 2023, when the Pioneers fell to Caldwell (22-25), 25-17, (21-25), 25-22 and 15-4 in a district final that featured 20 lead changes over two hours in BC3’s Field House.
“The speed is very fast (in the district tournament),” Hill said. “There is a high intensity level. We just have to go out and play our game.”
Ruckdeschel had 10 kills in the 2023 district final. She has 138 this season and ranks on the Pioneers’ roster behind only Russo, who has 170.
“I think we will be stronger this year mentally and physically (in the district tournament),” Ruckdeschel said. “Now we have to focus on the next competition and do what we have to do to win.”
BC3 has won 20 WPCC titles since 1977 and 14 Region 20 crowns in volleyball since 1999. No other BC3 athletics program has won more WPCC or Region 20 championships.

Robare is a setter, graduate of Slippery Rock Area Senior High and medical coding and billing specialist student at BC3. Russo is a middle hitter, Freeport graduate and Nursing, R.N., student. Recchia, defense, Slippery Rock, business administration; Bissell, outside hitter, Slippery Rock, business administration; Szymanski, libero, Knoch, Nursing, R.N.; Hill, opposite hitter, Laurel, health and physical education-teacher education; and Ruckdeschel, middle hitter, Allegheny-Clarion Valley, general studies.
The Pioneers’ roster also includes Dakota Weldon, outside hitter, Laurel, marketing management; Adriona Arnold, setter, Neshannock, criminology; Jozee Weaver, outside hitter, Keystone, health and physical education-teacher education; Nilah Foley, outside hitter, Butler, health care science; Marly Koleno, defense, Apollo Ridge, Nursing, R.N.
Also named to the WPCC all-conference team were CCAC’s Kayla Riley and Stephanie Schulte, and Penn Highlands’ Autumn Montgomery and Ava Dobransky. CCAC’s Riley and Alice Childs were also selected to the Region 20 all-tournament squad.