CW North Catholic lures Fetter back to sideline
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Two months after the 2017 girls volleyball season ended, Amanda Fetter decided to take a break from coaching, thus ending her six-year stint as Pine-Richland’shead coach.
Fetter was looking forward to the extra time she would have to spend with her family when an unexpected opportunity stepped intothe picture.
“I got a call from a friend who told me that [Cardinal Wuerl] North Catholic was having a problem finding a head coach and that I should apply,” Fetter said. “I had planned on taking a break from coaching, but decided to look into the opportunity. When I saw what a great group of kids they have, I decided to end my break from coaching sooner than expected.”
North Catholic placed third in Class 2A Section 2 last season. The Trojans qualified for the WPIAL playoffs,then dropped a marathon 3-2 match with Deer Lakesin the first round.
“I got the job on July 19, so I haven’t had as much time to work with the girls as I would like, but we’ve made a lot of progress in a short amount of time,” Fetter said. “I have a solid group of kids anddepth at every position.”
Fetter takes over a program that recently added two of the top players in the WPIAL via transfer. Sisters Alana and Dominique Felix come to North Catholic after spending the past two years atOakland Catholic.
Dominique Felix is a junior outside hitter who was first-team All-WPIAL Class 4A and was recognized on the PVCA All-State team last season. Alana Felix is a senior outside hitter who was second-teamAll-WPIAL.
“Dominique and Alana are very talented players,” Fetter said. “Both have significant experience at the clublevel.”
North Catholic’s top returnees are Lauren Gaertner, a senior libero, and Olivia Kaminski, a senior setter. Both were voted second-teamAll-Section 2.
“I don’t know how good weare,” said Fetter, when informed her squad would debut among the top three in the WPIAL Class 2A rankings. “I have no idea. I have a talented group of girls, but I don’t know what I’ve got untilI see them in live action.”
Key players out
Fetter’s assistant Cassie Pratte has taken over as headcoach at Pine-Richland.
“I’m leaving the PineRichland program in good hands,” Fetter said. “Cassie was my assistant the past five years. She will do a great job.”
Pratte takes over a PineRichland squad that begins the season without its top player.
“Anna Jurkovec is still recovering from an injury she suffered in the second half of last season,” said Pratte, referring to her 5-11 junior outside hitter who was secondteamAll-WPIAL Class 4A for the Rams last season. “We’re hoping for a healthy recovery.It’s a shame to have such a talented player sitting out. We’re hoping to have her backin the lineup later in the season, but we’ll just have to waitand see.”
Elizabeth Forward’s Bri Spirnak will also miss the start of the season. Spirnak, a senior middle hitter who was voted second-team AllWPIAL Class 3A last season, will not be available until laterin the season.
“Bri is out until later in the season for undisclosed reasons,”Elizabeth Forward coach Kameron Smith said. “It will hurt not having her in the lineup at the start of the season, but we still have astrong team coming back.”
Teams shuffle around
Twenty-two of the WPIAL’s 120 high schools wereaffected by the PIAA realignment for the upcoming two-year cycle, including two of last year’s WPIAL silver medalists, who have changedclasses.
All but two sections have changed, including one section that was eliminated when four schools dropped from Class 4A to Class 3A. With only 22 schools left in Class 4A, the WPIAL volleyball committee decided to use a 3-section format that eliminatesSection 4.
The four teams that moved down to Class 3A are Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Kiski Area and Woodland Hills. All four have been placed in Section 1, along with Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Indiana andMcKeesport. Armstrong was the WPIAL Class 4A runner-uplast year.
Shenango and South Side Beaver are the other two teams that moved down in classification, as both moved toClass 1A Section 1.
Four teams moved up in classification, including two of the top three teams in Class 1A. WPIAL runner-up Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and third-place finisher Frazier have moved up to Class 2A, along with WPIAL qualifier ChartiersHouston. Quaker Valley, a Class 2A playoff qualifier, hasmoved up to Class 3A.
The addition of five teams in Class 3A sets up a 32-team alignment with eight teams in each conference. Class 2A will have 35 teams, five conferences with seven teams in each. Class 1A will have 31 teams, three conferences with eight teams and one withseven teams.