Junior setter Jennifer Feicht has been a key part of the Vandal volleyball team since her freshman year, and continues to play the difficult position at a high level. For Feicht, it’s a matter of carrying on a family tradition.
Both of Feicht’s parents played collegiate volleyball and she said her parents met when they played against each other in an adult league. Feicht said she used to play basketball, but once she got a taste of volleyball it became her passion.
As a setter, Feicht has many responsibilities. She’s in charge of directing traffic on the court, whether calling plays or placing the ball for a hit, Feicht is in charge.
“My main responsibility is to give our hitters a good chance at a kill, and better the ball if the pass is not there,” Feicht said. “Another one of my main responsibilities is to make sure everyone knows what they’re hitting, make sure they’re in the right rotation. Basically, if I had to make an analogy for it, it would be like a quarterback on a football team.”
Feicht also said a setter has to learn the strengths and weaknesses of every player on the team so she can call the best play for any given situation.
Feicht went to Woodbridge High School in Irvine, Calif., where she led the Warriors to three consecutive league titles. She also played volleyball for the Saddleback Valley club and helped the team finish third at the Reno Festival in 2008.
In her freshman season at Idaho, Feicht earned a starting role toward the end of the season. She said it was a tough transition for her to make so quickly.
“The first game I played in, I was really nervous,” Feicht said. “I feel like everyone who comes in right out of high school is going to be nervous. It’s just a different intensity of a game. It’s a lot quicker.”
Feicht is not the only talented setter on roster for Idaho. Junior Ryann Carter has pushed for playing time. The two setters have shared time in a number of matches and are in constant competition for the starting role. Feicht said the competition makes both of them better players and makes the team better as a whole.
“We both put a lot of pressure on each other,” Feicht said. “We both know what our job is and we basically fight to the death because we both want to play, but when we step off the court, we’re really good friends.”
Feicht’s road to becoming a Vandal was an interesting one. Feicht said she received e-mails from both Idaho and Idaho State, but she mistakenly thought they were the same school. Feicht said she had no real interest in coming to Idaho, but that changed when she agreed to come for a visit.
“I came on my visit and I fell in love with it,” Feicht said. “I loved the school. It was so pretty. I’d never seen anything like it. The people were all really nice and the team seemed to just gel, and that was something I was looking for.”
Feicht has already racked up three double-doubles this season and she continues to be the “quarterback” for the Vandal volleyball team. Feicht is majoring in early childhood development and said she wants to either teach kindergarten or run a daycare in the future.