Franklin Regional volleyball caps meteoric rise with undefeated section season

By: Robert Scott
Friday, October 18, 2019 | 5:33 PM

When Franklin Regional girls volleyball coach Mike Feorene took the job seven years ago, the Panthers just experienced three straight years of winless volleyball.

The team went 0-36 in section play the three years before Feorene took over. Fast forward to 2017 and the team once again went winless in section play.

Fast forward two more years to present day and the Panthers are 13-0 and Section 1-AAA champions.

Clearly Franklin Regional’s success in girls volleyball did not happen overnight, but Feorene planted the seeds of a successful program early in his tenure.

“When I got to (Franklin Regional), we had to change the mentality of the sport,” he said. “A passion for the sport had to be developed within the school district.”

Feorene hired Emily Wetzler as the assistant/junior varsity coach as someone with college experience who could also connect with players.

Wetzler and Feorene share a connection as they both have Norwin ties.

Feorene coached both boys and girls volleyball at Norwin, holding the post with the boys team from 1994-2005 and the girls for five years within that span. Wetzler graduated from Norwin in 2006 before moving on to a collegiate career at Carlow.

Feorene also encourages his players to participate in the club volleyball season.

He said there were maybe two girls playing on a club team when he first started compared to the 15-20 girls who play now.

“All of these things have caused success for our program and (have increased participation in volleyball),” he said. “When you start to win games, things start to turn around.”

Feorene also acknowledged it helps to have three daughters come through his program — junior twins Alexa and Ashley are currently on the roster — to assist him as recruiters at school.

They are also two of the team’s most integral parts along with standout junior Aly Kindelberger, who verbally committed to DePaul last week.

“DePaul has the strong academics, promising volleyball and great location that I was looking for, so it seemed like a great fit,” Kindelberger said.

The All-WPIAL middle hitter said she’s ready for the opportunity to continue making history for the program.

“It means a lot to me (for the team) to have done this big (180-degree turnaround),” she said. “It has been an combination of maturing talent and resiliency.”

Kindelberger leads Franklin Regional in three categories with 338 kills, a .353 hitting percentage and 22 solo blocks. Alexa Feorene is tied with senior Hannah Flick to lead the team with 34 aces.

Alexa’s twin sister Ashley is third on the list with 31 aces. Alexa also leads the team with 232 digs. The next closest is senior Kara Soles with 117.

The twins’ older sister, Adrianna, graduated last year.

Feorene said coaching his daughters has only formed a stronger bond between the four of them.

“It’s amazing, seeing them all play since they started in fourth grade. It’s been quality time with my kids,” he said. “I cherish the bond I have with my daughters, on court as a coach and at home as a dad. I also get the closest seat in the house at all of their games.”

Tags: Franklin Regional