All-American awards for two volleyball players brings to four the number earned by Butler County Community College student-athletes in 2023 and for an unprecedented second year in a row.
The National Junior College Athletic Association’s prestigious postseason honor for Aryana Girvan and Johnna Hill follows that for Troy Loughry in golf in June and for Kevaughn Price in men’s basketball in April.
Aslyn Pry and Morgan Jack in 2022 were named All-Americans in volleyball, Pry in women’s basketball and Loughry in golf.
“Our programs are known to be successful, and that may help players to get more accolades,” said Rob Snyder, BC3’s director of student life and athletics and coach of the volleyball team. “Recruiting is a really big part of it. And continued success is a big part of it.”
“We have done really well as an institution,” said Bill Miller, BC3’s golf coach since 2003. “We’re definitely in the top years that we have had, for sure.”
“You don’t make it that far to become an All-American unless you persevere because seasons are so long,” said Joe Lewandowski, BC3’s men’s basketball coach since 2022. “We are recruiting quality players and a lot of the coaches are putting the players in position to be successful.”
BC3 had three NJCAA All-Americans in 1996, 2015 and 2017.
The college’s student-athletes have received 37 All-American awards since 1970, and 13 in volleyball since 1999.
Girvan becomes the first in volleyball to have also been a member of a state champion high school squad. Hill, who once served 25 consecutive points for Laurel High School in a WPIAL Section 1 Class AA title game, is BC3’s fifth All-American from Lawrence County.
Girvan was a four-year starter for a Clarion High team that won PIAA Class AA titles in 2020 and 2021.
Hill is the second BC3 All-American from Laurel High, following volleyball player Missy Haney in 1999. Hill also follows from Lawrence County BC3 All-Americans Michael Cuscino, Shenango, in golf in 2008; Nicole Houk, New Castle, in softball in 2017; and Breanna Reisinger, Lincoln High, Ellwood City, in volleyball in 2021.
BC3’s volleyball team in 2023 finished 18-6 and with the program’s 14th winning season in a row. The Pioneers won the program’s eighth consecutive Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference and fifth consecutive NJCAA Division III Region 20 championships.
The 2023 season marked the third in a row in which BC3 was ranked in Division III. The Pioneers were ranked seven times, and as high as No. 9 with an 8-1 record Sept. 11.
Girvan, an outside hitter, played in 24 games for BC3. She led the Pioneers in kills with 233 and in kills per set at 2.77.
“She has an amazing ability to get kills,” Snyder said. “Every ball she touches falls in somehow, whether from the front row or from the back rows. She just has an innate ability to score points, which is impressive.
“We threw a lot of balls out to her and she took a lot of swings. Some nights she had to carry the load and she was able to do that.”
Girvan also led the Pioneers in points with 269 and in points per set at 3.2. She was second with 343 digs and at 4.08 digs per set.
“The thing that I do the most is hit,” Girvan said. “That’s what I love to do and that’s what I know I am good at. I’m also very good at chasing down balls and if we need a save, I am going to go after it.
“I couldn’t have done this without my teammates and all of the hard work the coaches have put in with me. This means a lot to me, along with knowing that the hard work has paid off.”
Hill, a left-handed opposite hitter from the right side, played in 21 games for BC3. She led the Pioneers in service aces per set with 0.61.
“Very similar to Aryana in that she is a good hitter, good at defense and one of our best servers,” Snyder said. “She was like the big-play person. Aryana was the workhorse. But whenever things got tight and we really needed a big point, Johnna always seemed to come through with that.”
Hill was second in kills per set at 1.97, in assists with 136 and in service aces with 44 for BC3. She was third in kills with 142, in points with 194 and in points per set with 2.7.
Opponents “probably thought it was difficult to block me,” Hill said. “If you are right-handed, which most players are, setting up a block is so much easier for them. But it was hard for them to adjust to me hitting the ball.
“I am grateful to be chosen as an All-American. All of our teammates worked so hard. I can’t thank them enough.”
Girvan and Hill were named to the WPCC all-conference team.
Hill was chosen to the Region 20 all-tournament team and Girvan, as the most valuable player in the Region 20 tournament.
Four All-Americans in the each of the past two years “is really a big accomplishment for BC3,” Hill said. “It’s great to see everyone coming together, and having great teams and teammates as well.”
“An amazing year,” Girvan said.
The top 18 golfers in the four-round NJCAA Division III national tournament receive All-American honors. Loughry, a Grove City High graduate, finished fifth in 2023 and in 2022.
“I think BC3’s athletics programs have done a really good job, especially over the past couple of years, of recruiting players who want a great education,” Loughry said, “and want to continue to play college sports at a high level.”
Price, who helped to lead the BC3 men’s basketball team to its only berth in a national tournament in 55 years, averaged 21.5 points for a Pioneers squad that finished 21-5 and was ranked as high as No. 7 in Division III.
Price is a graduate of Bishop Canevin and played on its boys basketball team that won the PIAA Class A championship in March 2022. He scored 20 or more points in 14 games for BC3 and led the Pioneers nine times. Price also had a team second-best 34 blocked shots.
“The sports at BC3 are doing great,” Price said, “and the coaches are bringing in talented players.”
Pry, a graduate of Moniteau, in 2022 averaged 19.6 rebounds and 23.2 points for BC3 women’s basketball team. She scored 20 or more points in 13 games – including a season-high of 37 in a Dec. 4 victory against Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio.
Pry in 2022 led Division III with a .432 hitting percentage and was 15th in kills per set at 3.86 for BC3’s volleyball team.
Jack, a graduate of Knoch, in 2022 set the volleyball program’s career assists record with 1,429 in 44 matches. She had 40 or more assists in five matches, including 56 on Aug. 27 against Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, Ohio. She was also selected as an All-American in 2021.
Girvan is a business management student at BC3 and Hill, a biological science student.
