North Catholic’s Jones, Feczko co-Players of Year again
CRANBERRY TWP — The hardwood was littered with chocolate.
Jumping up and down and laughing, it was as if North Catholic’s Sydnei Jones didn’t even notice. At the same time, Ally Feckzo put her celebration on hold, trying to pick up as many Hershey’s kisses as she could so they wouldn’t be stomped onto the gym floor.
The senior duo’s difference in demeanor was on full display as the Trojanettes carried into the night, headed to the PIAA Class 3A final after a 3-1 victory over Thomas Jefferson.
After another highly successful campaign, the talented setter, Jones, and the feared outside hitter, Feczko, have been named as the Butler Eagle’s Girls Volleyball co-Players of the Year for the second season in a row.
“I think that they are one of the most dynamic outside-setter pairs that have been together in a long time,” North Catholic coach Amanda Fetter said. “They're poetry in motion, they really are. Somebody said to me one time after a game, ‘How does she (Sydnei) know where she (Ally) is all the time?’
“I was like, ‘I don’t know. She just knows.’”
Jones finished the go-round with well over 700 assists, while Feczko averaged nearly 20 kills per match. The latter notched an impressive 51 points over the last two matches of the postseason.
Both players were named All-WPIAL and All-State.
“They could not be more opposite,” Fetter said. “There’s just been so many times where the fact of the two of them just playing off of each other like poetry … Sydnei was our fire and Ally was the calm. I can’t even imagine the past three years without them being together.”
Jones was the crew’s vocal leader. Night after night, Feczko’s performance spoke for itself. The tandem’s paths to committing to the sport differed, as well.
Once a standout club soccer striker, Jones decided she wanted to take on more responsibility in another endeavor. She wasn’t sure if her level of play would remain the same as it did on the turf, yet it was a challenge she sought out.
“There’s a different dynamic in volleyball that I kind of fell in love with,” Jones said. “Being a setter and being able to control everything on the court and basically being the quarterback.”
It’s safe to say the risk paid off. After graduating this spring, she’ll head to play at Howard — where both of her parents also attended.
“She is just so much fun to watch play,” Fetter said of Sydnei. “She is so good at pretty much all aspects of setting that you can even think of … You would be surprised at how many people, after we played were just like, ‘Phew, the stuff she can do.’”
Feczko, on the other hand, knew she wanted to be on the court early on.
“When I was younger, I tested out all of the other sports,” Feczko said. “By the time fourth grade came around, I was all set on volleyball.”
Around that same time, she saw how much her older sister, Elizabeth — who’s now playing at Villanova — enjoyed the sport. Ally began playing for her grade school team and volleyball became a large part of her life.
Once teammates, the connection the two shared was undeniable. Jones orchestrated plenty of emphatic spikes by Feczko during their time together.
“IQ is huge in sports,” Sydnei said. “That can separate a good player from a great player. Usually, before every single play, I look over at the opposing team’s offense and I see, ‘Is there a mismatch?’”
If the middle on the other side was, say, 6-3, and the left side was 5-5, she knew just what to do.
“If I shoot it over to Ally and she hits down the line, that blocker’s going to be a lot shorter,” Sydnei said. “Reading offense is huge and also knowing where the gaps are.”
“It’s a really big role to have such a big impact on the offense of a team, so I just try to work on my shots,” Feczko said. “You don’t always have to hit the ball hard. You can switch it up and change where you put the ball and what speed and type of spin on the ball … That’s what I really worked on this year, was just having a bigger toolbox.”
Feczko will also play at the next level, having committed to Lafayette in July. The pair leaves a large footprint, not just in the Butler County area, but the region as a whole.
“I loved being on the court with her,” Jones said. “We just have this connection that I haven’t really had with a lot of other hitters … I really will miss setting her.”
“We worked really well together,” Feczko said. “I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity for her to set me for the past three years … We connected really easily and were able to lead the team pretty well and be very successful. That’s a pretty good legacy to leave behind.”
