3-peat for North Catholic
MOON TWP — North Catholic grabbed its third straight girls volleyball WPIAL title — and its first in Class 3A — Saturday at Robert Morris University, but it didn’t come without a speed bump.
The Trojanettes took the first two sets against South Fayette — 25-22 and 25-20 — before an uncharacteristic third game, which they dropped, 25-12. North Catholic put a stop to things in the set that followed, winning it by a 25-22 score.
“Honestly, my kids have done a great job all year of just regathering,” Trojanettes coach Amanda Fetter said. “We always say, ‘One ball at a time, one game at a time, one day at a time.’ With that, we also talk a lot about (how) it’s just volleyball. Just move onto the next night and the next game.”
The No. 10 seed Lions arrived by virtue of three upsets — against No. 7 Armstrong, No. 2 Hampton, and No. 3 Greater Latrobe. They were hoping to even matters and force a fifth set during a fourth game that featured nine tied scores and four lead changes.
“To get here was obviously quite an accomplishment,” South Fayette coach Scott Sundgren said. “We went through a lot just to get here … I thought we played our hearts out today.”
“We knew we were going to have a fight ahead of us,” Fetter said. “They have a couple of really good players on their team and we knew we were going to be battling against them tonight.”
The moment wasn’t too big for her side, and the composure ensured things didn’t snowball after the Lions ran away with their lone set win.
“I feel like they got a little tight in the middle of the game and we were able to get them to relax,” Fetter said. “I have a great staff and we just kind of pulled each of them (the players) to the side one at a time and talked to them about chilling out.”
Sophomore outside hitter Ella Koziara, who tied senior setter Sydnei Jones for the team’s lead in kills on the night with 13, was part of a stable of players whose experience came up big.
“I’m really honored to get to start as a freshman and a sophomore,” she said. “I really just have the best team around me, so it feels good.”
Familiar faces such as Jones and Ally Feczko — 2021’s Butler Eagle Girls Volleyball co-Players of the Year — remained from last year’s title win. A number of contributors played important roles, too.
“Sydnei and Ally are amazing,” Fetter said. “And then we have our sophomores like Ella and Sienna (Cozza) and those guys that are really coming along. Rebecca Feczko had a great day. Katie McNelly has been a force for us the second half of the season, so it’s been wonderful.
“This whole group in itself, they’ve been along this ride now for three years … They’ve been here, done that, and they’re really pushing to continue this.”
Sundgren felt it came down to a few breaks. The score was knotted up a total of 23 times over the four games.
“When you get these close games like that, it’s a few little touches one way or the other, a missed one here or there,” he said.
Koziara explained what she felt was the turning point of the match, which came after the third set.
“We definitely had a big change of attitude,” Koziara said. “Everybody’s attitude went from being a little more negative to way more positive and we just lifted each other up.”
