Ellwood City graduate Breanna Reisinger headlines a group of decorates starters returning to the The Butler County Community College volleyball squad this fall.
Two All-Americans, a middle hitter selected to a national championship all-tournament team, and three other starters who as first-year players in 2021 led the Pioneers to a 12th consecutive winning season and a sixth-place national finish.
Outside hitter Reisinger and setter Morgan Jack in December became the first teammates in program history to be named National Junior College Athletic Association All-Americans following the same season. The Pioneers ended 18-3 after the NJCAA Division III national championships in Rochester, Minn., where middle hitter Aslyn Pry was selected to the all-tournament team.
Reisinger led the Pioneers in 2021 with 205 kills and Jack, with 635 assists.
Libero Madison Raypush, outsider hitter Abby Granato and middle hitter Claire Kile also return to a 2022 BC3 squad that was ranked No. 5 nationally Aug. 15 in an NJCAA Division III preseason poll.
“Getting your key players back is super-important,” coach Rob Snyder said. “Not just the All-Americans. All of our returning players were key last year. And hopefully that will allow us to get off to another quick start this year and be able to get back to the level of play we reached last season.”
Reisinger is graduate of Lincoln High School in Ellwood City.
The Pioneers in 2021 began 16-0 for the first time under Snyder and were ranked as high as third among 91 squads in the NJCAA Division III.
Coach anxious “but also excited”
BC3 in October set a Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference record by winning its sixth title in a row. The Pioneers went on to win their third consecutive NJCAA Division III Region 20 championship and an NJCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic B District crown.
BC3 earned its third berth in the national championship tournament, where it finished fifth in 2002 and sixth in 2009.
“I have the exact same goals every year, and I feel the same anxiety every year about accomplishing those goals,” said Snyder, whose teams were 413-156 through 2021.
“It’s great to have returning players but, personally, that just means there’s more pressure on me to make sure we are as successful as we were last year. We’ve never been able to go to nationals in back-to-back seasons. I’m just as anxious as I always am, but I am also excited.”
Reisinger is graduate of Lincoln High School in Ellwood City and Jack, of Knoch.
Pry, a graduate of Moniteau, led BC3 in 2021 in blocks with 27 and was second in kills with 199.
“Morgan should be really big for us as far as running the offense,” Snyder said. “Breanna and Aslyn are top hitters. They were pretty equal last year. So they will be kind of our go-to-players.”
Reisinger, Jack and Pry in 2021 were selected to the WPCC all-conference team; Reisinger was named most valuable player and Jack and Pry to the Region 20 all-tournament team; and Reisinger, Jack and Pry were selected to the postseason all-Region 20 first team. Pry was also named a Region 20 player of the month for October.
Raypush was second in digs for BC3 in 2021 with 225, Granato was second in blocks with 12 and third in kills with 89, and Kile was third in blocks with 10 and fifth in kills with 67.
Raypush is a graduate of Knoch; Granato, of Mohawk; and Kile, of Harvest Baptist.
“We can do some creative things”
“Last year, everyone was new, so we never got to do anything too high level,” Snyder said. “We were just really basic. We were really good at what we did, but with a simple scheme.
“This year is interesting because now we can do some new things. The players know more hits. They have more versatility. We can move them around a little bit. We can be more creative with our style of play.”
The Pioneers’ 2022 roster also includes freshmen Abby Young, defense, Redbank Valley; Amber Maurer, outside hitter, Karns City; Krystle Ekas, outside hitter, Knoch; Zoe Morley, opposite, Portersville Christian; and sophomore Becca McCandless, defense, Slippery Rock.
The Pioneers opened their 20-game regular-season schedule Aug. 24 with a 3-0 victory at Westmoreland County Community College. BC3’s first home match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 2 against Penn State Shenango.
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