At 16, Felicia Reilly has already taken the stage at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The All-City and All-District musician is the principal violist at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and plays in the string quartet.
She also puts on a finely tuned show on the volleyball court, where the All-Public standout is looking to lead the Pegasus to a Public League title. CAPA is better known for producing musical talents than athletes. Reilly, for instance, enrolled at the school to play the violin. But once the former recreational player watched a practice her freshman year, she quickly decided there was more to life than music.
"It was a whole new world," Reilly recalled while taking a break from Monday’s volleyball practice.
That world has included contending for the Public League crown each year. In her first three seasons at 901 S. Broad St., the outside hitter has helped the Pegasus make one championship game appearance and two trips to the semifinals.
"People don’t expect that," said Reilly, of Roxborough. "Our volleyball team is like our basketball team — that’s what everybody gets pumped up for."
CAPA is one of the few schools in the city where visitors can watch boys and girls bump, set and serve before school, at lunchtime and after school. The results of all that practice are once again showing in the standings as the Pegasus finished the regular season with a 9-1 record — good enough for second-best in the city. Undefeated Masterman surpassed CAPA with a 10-0 mark.
The two city rivals could very well meet again in the title game. CAPA, who drew a first-round bye, opens the playoffs tomorrow afternoon at Palumbo Recreation Center, 10th and Fitzwater streets.
Despite losing 3-0 to Masterman during the regular season, coach Rick Shields is confident that his group can compete. Masterman might have nine players who participate in clubs outside of school, but Shields thinks he has the best athlete in the league in Reilly.
"She is arguably the best player I ever coached," the 2003 Review Coach of the Year said. "She has phenomenal defensive skills. The way she does things is just amazing."
Amazing, indeed: In a recent regular-season game, Reilly recorded 18 kills out of 26 attempts.
The athlete brushes up her skills by playing club volleyball with the Roxborough-based Philadelphia Outsiders. One of Reilly’s CAPA rivals — a good friend from Masterman — also plays on the squad. The team went to Penn State earlier this year to participate in the East Coast Championships.
Reilly, who spent previous seasons with the Philadelphia Starlings, said playing club volleyball has really helped her develop as an athlete.
"It’s great to see what’s out there," she said. "The Public League is great, but you don’t know what you are missing until you see it."
She’s applied the same principle to her musical career. Reilly started playing the violin in elementary school, but switched to the viola freshman year to carry a deeper tune. She caught on rather quickly, making the assistant principal (second chair) of the string quartet her sophomore year and moving up to the principal, or first chair, position last year. Her group performs for pay at receptions and benefits throughout the year.
As it gets closer to Christmastime, the student said her group will perform at least once every other week. The Kimmel Center performance, which Reilly described as "amazing," still stands out above the rest.
Now she is eyeing a command performance on the volleyball court. No CAPA girls’ volleyball team has ever won a Public League crown. Reilly believes the program’s time has come.
"It’s not a question of our ability," said the player, a member of the National Honor Society. "We are all in sync. It’s just a matter of how we put it together. I know we can do it."
The student — who credits her coach for honing her volleyball game — will have the help of some talented teammates, including Diana Surman, the only other senior on the team. The rest of the Pegasus is made up of five sophomores and one junior. The coach is counting on big playoff games from sophomores Neddicka Waterman and Alexis Cohan.
Reilly, who also finds time to work after school at a bakery, helps mold future volleyball players by coaching for St. John the Baptist Catholic Youth Organization’s fifth- and sixth-grade team. She plans to continue playing the sport herself at college. The athlete, who ranks 11th in her class, is considering West Chester and Millersville, both of which have volleyball and music programs.
She has no intention of choosing between her two favorite activities.
"If I quit one, I lose part of myself."
