College sports roundup: BC3 volleyball wins 9th conference title in a row, remains unbeaten
Butler County Community College women’s volleyball dominated in three sets once again Saturday, beating the Community College of Allegheny County 3-0.
The win (set scores: 25-7, 25-3, 25-12) earned the Pioneers their ninth Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference title and sixth National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 championship in a row.
BC3 (22-0) now heads to Pinehurst, N.C., for the Mid-Atlantic District championship against Sandhills Community College (34-5). A win earns the Pioneers an automatic berth in the NJCAA national championship tournament from Nov. 14-16 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“I feel pretty good about this,” Pioneers head coach Rob Snyder said in a news release. “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.”
BC3’s 22-0 start is its best in 25 years under Snyder, and the winning streak is the program’s longest ever. The team, ranked No. 4 in the nation, is the only unbeaten team in the Top 15.
Anora Robare had 21 assists and Josie Russo led with 12 kills in Saturday’s win. Virginia Recchia had nine digs and Molly Bissell served a season-high seven aces.
Emma Maloberti, a Seneca Valley grad, was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
The Westminster College junior forward had assists in a 7-0 win over Thiel on Oct. 23 and contributed defensively to a 2-0 win over Bethany, Westminster’s fourth league shutout this season.
Knoch grad Caden Traggiai was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Swimmer of the Week for the second time this season.
A junior for Penn State-Altoona, he won the 200-yard freestyle and 500 free Friday against St. Vincent, finished third in the 200 individual medley and helped the 200 free relay team finish third.