Girls volleyball: Benet leans on Bryant, who aspires to be a doctor after her grandmother’s death: ‘She does really care’

Benet senior setter Maddie Bryant hasn’t decided whether she will play volleyball in college.

She is set on her academic course, however.

“My goal is to be pre-med,” Bryant said. “That’s obviously really important to me.”

Bryant aspires to become a doctor for a deeply personal reason.

“My grandma had Alzheimer’s, and she passed away two years ago,” she said. “I feel like that really pushed me because it felt like some of her symptoms were ignored by some providers because of her age, unfortunately.”

Bryant doesn’t want to make the same mistake. She endeavors to help people every day.

“That’s one of the things that attracted me to the profession,” she said. “I knew whatever I wanted to go into, I wanted to help people, regardless of what I was doing.”

The 5-foot-10 Bryant has been helping the Redwings (19-7) measure up to the high standards the program has set over the past two decades. One of five seniors on a talented but young roster, Bryant is the floor captain in her first season as a starter.

“We have a lot of young kids, and they need help,” Benet coach Brad Baker said. “Obviously, everyone needs a certain level of help, and if you have other people that can help and mentor you like Maddie’s done, it’s a plus.”

Benet sophomore outside hitter Linden Stritch, who is learning how to play right-side hitter, has benefited from Bryant’s mentorship.

“It’s really great to work with Maddie because she’s such a hard worker, and so playing with her and seeing how hard she works is really motivating me to work harder and be my best,” Stritch said. “She’s always willing to put in the extra reps with me when I want to work on something particular.”

Stritch particularly appreciates Bryant’s empathy.

“It’s very apparent that she cares a lot about all of us and she wants to do what’s best for everyone,” Stritch said. “She does really care.”

In a way, Bryant isn’t much different than her younger teammates. She had to ride the bench for her first three seasons before she got playing time.

“As an eighth grader deciding to come to Benet, I knew it wasn’t going to be in an I-get-to-play-right-away situation,” she said. “But that’s what I like about it.

“I like having to earn my spot and having to compete with obviously some of the best players that have ever come out of Illinois and out of this school. So that was a really important piece to me when I picked this school.”

Bryant, who has tallied 398 assists, 116 digs, 17 kills, 16 aces and 11 blocks, has been an important piece this season and, like Stritch, is learning a new position.

Bryant also plays middle when she’s in the front row. Baker, who loves to move his players around like a chess grandmaster, had Bryant playing middle in the season opener and sophomore Claire Rooney at setter.

But Rooney suffered a fractured thumb in that match, so Bryant is the setter and is still doing some blocking too. Her ability to adapt has impressed senior middle Sophia Youssef, who also can play setter.

“She’s great,” Youssef said. “If you watch the game, she’s everywhere on the court. She’s blocking in the middle and setting, so she’s doing the block and running across. It’s been big.”

Baker noted that setters only have to cover one side of the court while blocking, but Bryant has to cover both sides in her hybrid role.

‘When you play middle and setter in the front row, you better be in pretty good shape,” Baker said. “You’re breathing pretty hard.

“She’s had to learn some new skills, new things that setters don’t ever do. It’s difficult when you have to block and then you have to find the ball and set.”

Bryant said her ability to adapt has become her biggest strength. She has adjusted by focusing on what is happening in the moment and not overthinking.

But Bryant does think the Redwings, who beat state power Mother McAuley on Sept. 22, can go far.

“There’s not really a limit to how good we can be,” she said. “There’s comfort in being the underdog and knowing that you have to earn every point.

“I like that mindset better than being at the top and having everything to lose. I like going into a game where it’s high stakes and you have that energy and you know every point is going to be a battle. That’s the situation that I like most.”