FREMONT – Maddison Baacke has never been shy speaking her mind on the volleyball court. And she’ll have at least another four years to chat it up at the college level.
Maddison Baacke
The Fremont Ross senior committed to Defiance College to continue her volleyball career. Defiance is an NCAA Division III program.
While she knows the next level will present its challenges, she knows one of them be having to come out of her shell with her teammates.
“Being a libero I’ve always had the strong communication skills,” Baacke said. “That’ll probably be the easiest part (of the college game). The hardest is going to be getting used to the harder hits and the speed of the game.”
Among her statistics, Baacke totaled 195 digs in 70 sets played, an average of nearly nine per match. She was a two-year letterwinner and in her career won both the team’s Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Little Giant Heart Award.
“She will go for every single ball,” said Dorothy Cory, Baacke’s club team coach at Black Swamp Volleyball. “She brings so much energy, so much positivity, even when she is upset with herself for making a mistake, she’ll go right back out there and at it again. She’s not a quitter. That’s what I love about her the most.”
Baacke said she looked at over a dozen other schools but Defiance offered her the smaller campus she wanted while staying close, but not too close, to home.
“We went and I stayed there and I talked to the coaches and I really liked the girls,” Baacke said. “The small community, it’s all close together and the coaching is really straight-forward, how I like it.”
Baacke said a door is open for her to get playing time as a freshman but she knows it’s up to her to earn it.
“As of right now, (coach Brie Brenner) is thinking I will play as a freshman but it could change if I’m not performing,” Baacke said. “Their libero graduated last year so I could be a (defensive specialist) or a libero. It doesn’t matter, I’ve played all over the place, so wherever the coach wants to throw me is fine.”
Baacke, who carries a 3.76 GPA, plans to study Exercise Science and Physical Therapy.