Slippery Rock’s Robare headed to BC3
SLIPPERY ROCK — Anora Robare has already seen the difference two years can make.
In signing her letter of intent to join the Butler County Community College women’s volleyball team Wednesday afternoon at Slippery Rock High School, she turned her focus to the two to come.
“It was really fun,” Robare said of her time with the Rockets. “I had 1,000 career assists, but I did it in two years — which was honestly really awesome, I feel like, because I did push myself a lot.”
With both the statistical achievement and her play on the court, her improvement has been evident.
“I only had Anora for two years,” Slippery Rock coach Brandon Ferrier said. “But, those two years honestly felt like four years. Just (with) the way she grew up, the way she molded into that captain — that leadership figure — was huge. I thought she came out of her shell after her first year, kind of taking a new role.”
Robare was the leading setter for the Rockets this season as the team finished 26-2-1. She posted 684 assists, 54 kills, 36 aces, 45 blocks, and 114 digs.
“This year, she was more comfortable with spreading the offense, getting her hitters the ball — and her hitters stepped up big and gave her those 1,000 assists and pushed her the way she needed to go,” Ferrier said.
Robare was initially interested in attending Slippery Rock University, but changed her mind after Pioneers coach Rob Snyder assured her she’d see the court much more with his group.
“He said I should look into BC3, because instead of sitting the bench, I’d get some playing time,” Robare said.
Robare said that she’d like to be able to foster close relationships with her new teammates, as well as working on her setting and defense.
“Her leadership is huge,” Ferrier said. “That’s going to translate huge to the next level. The way that she steps up, the way that she talks to her teammates on the court, the way that she can command an offense — it’s going to help her.”
If Robare has it her way, she’ll be able to use the two-year experience to climb even higher.
“Definitely just going to a bigger college and playing at a higher level after that,” she said of what she hopes to get out of her BC3 experience.
Her coach is confident that she’ll achieve her goal.
“I think she’ll definitely benefit,” Ferrier said. “Rob over at BC3 is an excellent coach. I know he always communicates with me and we talk back and forth with the players.
“I think Anora’s going to take that jump. That’s going to be a nice two-step approach for her to get to the next level.”
