Maddie in the middle
Senior setter the key for Class 2A state champion Andrean
When the topic is volleyball, Andrean senior Maddie Kmetz has difficulty finding someone who can keep up with the conversation.
The 5-foot-9 setter has been so immersed in the sport since middle school that she could talk for hours on end about every nuance of it, especially when it comes to her position.
“I feel like people don’t understand how many different sets there can be and how difficult it is to set the ball at a different height or at a different tempo,” Kmetz said, offering a minuscule summary of the volleyball thoughts in her mind.
Kmetz, the 2021 Post-Tribune Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, was the centerpiece for virtually every point scored by Northwest Indiana’s only state champion this season. Andrean (32-5) won the Class 2A state title with a 25-20, 20-25, 25-27, 27-25, 15-12 victory against Western Boone on Nov. 6.
Kmetz found satisfaction every time a ball hit the ground on the other side of the net — because she was usually involved in the play.
“Knowing what everyone does and what they need and then seeing them get a kill off of it because I set them up, I feel like that’s pretty cool,” she said.
Andrean coach Grant Bell said Kmetz is “our quarterback.”
“Setters are the whole tempo of your offense,” Bell said. “They bring everyone together. It’s truly the heartbeat of the team. If it’s not working, the rest of it is way out of whack.”
Bell also pointed out that, unlike quarterbacks, setters have responsibilities on defense. Kmetz said improving her defensive skills was a key offseason focus. The statistics tell the story of her well-rounded game. She led the 59ers in assists with 1,057 and aces with 95 and was third in digs with 282.
But Kmetz’s success this fall was the result of years of dedication to volleyball. Growing up, she spent time in swimming, gymnastics, basketball, soccer and softball before her first foray into volleyball during fifth grade. By middle school, Kmetz noticed something different about her attitude toward volleyball that was cemented in her mind during a brief stint on the bench with a sprained ankle.
“I got hurt and had to sit out, and I was like, ‘Man, I hate this. I really like this sport,’ ” she said. “And that’s when it all started.”
Kmetz laughed as she recalled a similar moment during middle school when she sulked off to her room in frustration because snowy conditions made the roads impassable and forced her to miss a practice.
“When I was in the other sports and wasn’t feeling it, I was like, ‘Oh, sweet, I get to miss practice,’ ” she said. “When I had to miss a practice for volleyball, it didn’t feel good.”
Bell had a front-row seat for Kmetz’s development over the past four seasons and said she was the linchpin of the offense.
“She had the ability to push the ball anywhere on the court, no matter where the pass was,” Bell said. “If they don’t have the skill level to do it, it’s never going to be successful. She worked so hard at her skills to be able to do it, and that’s what made it possible.”
College volleyball is next on the agenda for Kmetz, who intends to play at the next level.
“That’s definitely a goal of mine,” she said. “But I’m still working on it.”