BUTLER TWP — Winning isn’t everything, but it can lead to plenty of other things.

The Butler County Community College women’s volleyball program exemplifies such a concept.

Butler resident Rob Snyder has been coach of the Pioneers for 26 seasons, producing a 475-168 won-loss record, 14 regional championships and four trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament. This year’s team finished 25-2 and placed ninth at the NJCAA Nationals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

But the statistical ledger barely scratches the surface of what this program has meant to numerous people.

“We’ve been able to become the hub of volleyball in the Butler County area,” Snyder said. “That’s been our goal. We have clinics and camps here. We do a summer high school league so potential players can see the campus and get a taste of what we do.”

What Snyder’s program does is build a family.

“It changed my life,” said Missy Haney Schnur, a Laurel High School graduate who went on to become one of Snyder’s first standout players on the court. “I met my husband at BC3. And it was only by chance that I even joined the team.”

Haney was on a tour of the campus when she met Snyder. He happened to be in the gym when the tour made a stop there.

“I saw she had a letterman’s jacket on for Laurel volleyball,” Snyder recalled. “I talked to her about our program, and she wound up joining us.”

“If Rob didn’t happen to be in there at the time, I doubt I would have ever played volleyball at BC3,” Haney Schnur said. “Just one of those things.”

Moniteau graduate Aslyn Pry was a standout basketball player in high school. She played volleyball for the Warriors as well, but it wasn’t her main sport.

Snyder and the BC3 program changed that.

“I loved the culture that was established there,” Pry said of the volleyball program. “I played basketball at BC3, but Rob turned me into a pretty good volleyball player. I wound up moving on to Slippery Rock (University) to continue playing.

“Without growing as a student-athlete through BC3 volleyball, there’s no way that happens for me.”

Pry played for The Rock this fall. She also found time to return to BC3 and serve as a volunteer assistant coach with the Pioneers during the preseason.

“I just wanted to continue being part of it,” she said.

Many Pioneer volleyball alumni feel the same way. Snyder holds an alumnae game every preseason where former players come back and scrimmage against the current team.

A number of former players have returned to serve as assistant coaches under Snyder. Butler graduate Autumn Rodgers, a Pioneer player in 2016 and 2017, is an assistant on the squad.

“I can’t begin to describe the positive experiences the program has given me,” Rodgers said. “My best friend from high school, Kelly Kabay, was also a teammate of mine at BC3. How many people can say they played a high school and college sport with their best friend?

“The people I played with in college are still my friends. We formed strong relationships through spending so much time together.”

Rodgers said she returned to the program as an assistant coach “because it gives you the feeling of family.

“Everybody knows everybody; it’s not just the staff. I walked back into the gym and the janitor said hello. He remembered me,” Rodgers said.

“It’s a special place,” she added.

Butler graduate Megan Smith Nimmo played for the Pioneers in 2002 and 2003. She became an All-American there.

“I loved volleyball and wanted to continue playing after high school,” Smith Nimmo said. “I didn’t think I could play at a Division II school, though. Rob reached out to me and told me about what was happening at BC3.

“That was the best route to go. It was cost-effective and I could keep playing volleyball. That team not only made volleyball a big part of my life, it helped me expand as a person. I got involved in student government, organized activities on campus … I loved being involved.”

Now married with four children, Smith Nimmo is an assistant girls volleyball coach at Laurel High School. Her oldest daughter, eighth-grader Mackenzie, is a volleyball player and has participated in one of Snyder’s clinics. Laurel’s team plays in the high school summer league as well.

Through the years, Snyder has pulled in players from all over the county. Butler, Knoch, Slippery Rock, Karns City, Moniteau, Freeport and Seneca Valley all have sent volleyball players to BC3.

For a long time, the BC3 volleyball roster consisted of nearly 100% Butler County players.

“We’ve been able to expand that recruiting base in recent years,” Snyder said. “Winning definitely has helped in that regard. But I love teaching the game. We’ve had players who never played high school volleyball and they’ve contributed here.

“We work hard at it. We begin in August, and we practice hard. The key is bringing in players who are committed to the sport, who are willing to work hard and get better. The players become close to each other during that process.”

Now 54, Snyder still gets out on the court with the players and demonstrates what he wants done.

“That’s getting tougher and tougher on my body,” he said, laughing. “So many alumni have come back to help out through the years and I love that. I’m hoping one of them will eventually take the reins from me and keep this thing going.”

But not just yet.

Snyder is 25 wins away from No. 500.

“That may take a couple of years,” he said. “But, no, I can’t see myself walking away from that.”