McCormick's Time Becomes Now

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Tom Hilbert didn't see a reaction from her. None at all, and that's what he's come to expect of Maddy McCormick.

The true freshman from Crystal Lake, Ill., is good with that assessment. She takes pride in her ability to remain calm in all situations. In fact, she spent the beginning of the season trying to put herself in uncomfortable situations to learn how to deal with them and grow as a player.

She began the match this past Thursday secure in her role she was redshirting this season, the most primary reason being to bring some balance to the roster in later years. She had been impressive in camp, and it made it a hard call for Tom Hilbert to do so, but lately, he'd been reconsidering.

The Rams' pin players haven't been overly consistent. Hilbert feels Jacqi Van Liefde has been for the most part since the second week, but night in and night out, he's not sure what he's getting, as it has ranged from the spectacular to mistake-filled.

So when Annie Sullivan went down injured in the second set, he started to walk down to the end of the bench, down toward McCormick. At first, she thought nothing of it. Then in an instant, she knew.

Her redshirt year was done.

"Oh, inside I was freaking out a little bit. I tend to keep myself pretty composed, I think," she said. "I work pretty well under pressure, so when he came up to me, I was, OK, now's my chance, I have to go prove myself. I probably didn't have much of a facial expression, but I was freaking out a little bit."

Then she went out and produced, getting a kill on her first swing. She tied for the team lead in kills with 10, hitting .300 in the match, a very strong performance for an outside hitter. It came on a night when Van Liefde from the opposite also had 10, but the other two outside hitters – Sullivan and Kennedy Stanford – combined for nine.

That's the inconsistency Hilbert referenced, and why there was no hesitation in his call on McCormick. His team has played 13 matches and stands 7-6; there are 14 remaining – all in Mountain West play, where the Rams have every opportunity to finish strong. At 3-1 in league play, they are one of five teams tied for the conference lead.

"I just think we need more options. I would imagine you'll see a lot of these kids playing a lot," Hilbert said. "I told Maddy when I put her in, I've been thinking about this for a while and I think it's the right thing to do. We're going to continue to play you. It's not going to be a one-off because Annie got hurt.

"She was fantastic. She did in the match exactly what she does in practice. She has a variety of shots, she didn't make a bunch of mistakes and so, as a result, we were productive in her rotations. It was very impressive. Again, I think it's too much for us to expect her to do that every time we play her, but it was impressive, and to a degree, it was not surprising, because she has the kind of demeanor that allows her to be composed all the time. I think that's something I've always liked about her."

What happens next is all four of them will play. Hilbert wishes it was as easy as expecting one by one, they'll become consistent and earn permanent roles. It hasn't happened to this point, but it will give the Rams some stealth moving forward. Teams will have to prepare for all four of them, not just the regular trio. It at least produces a moment of pause.

Likewise, Hilbert and his staff have to take their strengths into consideration when scouting teams and decide on who starts. If one goes cold, he has an option at the ready.

The person with the toughest task may just be setter Ciera Pritchard, who has to be ready to set up all of them, probably in every match moving forward.

"It's something all setters have to do, you have to know your personnel," Pritchard said. "Maddy likes different sets than Kennedy, who likes different sets than Annie, who likes different sets than Jacqi. That's just the beauty of it, honestly. We get to have this diversity on our team where if someone is having a rough night, someone else can come in and pick up the slack for them. I'm really optimistic about this, actually."

On the plane flight back home, McCormick still didn't know what to think; she knows how to play volleyball, but she's not in tune with NCAA rules line by line. What she does know now is there is no going back – not for the Rams, definitely not for her. Hilbert fully intends to play her a lot and see how she progresses.

Her development is still key, but now it's going to come in matches. Knowing this, she's not about to put any undue pressure on herself.

"I'm just taking it as an opportunity to go out there, when I do get the chance, to show what I can do," she said. "I know I've been working hard for it. Whatever will help the team in the end. I have no idea what's going to happen. We have all these amazing hitters, and in practice, all four of us keep it really competitive with each other. It's an unspoken competition in practice; we're fighting for that. Even when I was redshirting, we were all fighting for those spots. That keeps it really amazing too, and we're bettering each other every day.

"My mindset going forward is do what I can and show what I'm capable of. There could be times when I possibly start, times I possibly wont. I have no clue what's going to happen at all. I'm just going to keep doing my best."

She's not alone, either. Pritchard said McCormick looked calm, but she could sense the wheels were spinning inside, and even had a wide-eyed look on the court at first. She understood completely, putting herself in her teammate's shoes if she had been called upon as a true freshman in the middle of what she believed to be a redshirt year.

She also applauded McCormick's ability to put down kills and not get rattled. She also expects what has been normal will remain so, which is all the pin players will continue to work and make each other better.

"A rising tide raises all boats," she said.

Hilbert's hoping for the same. Better play. Better yet, consistent play. All four of them have had good nights. Now, can some of them start to have them more often than the others?

The Rams are going to find out.

"I don't know if any one of them is going to establish themselves and play consistently all the way through; we've already seen that," he said. "But they each have their own things they bring to the table. Sometimes moves like this inject energy into a team, and they bring something new and something exciting. That's' what I'm hoping will happen."

As for McCormick, she'll just wait and see. That's what she's been doing. On the side, she would watch the pin players on both teams, think about what shots she might have tried in each of the situations. She's still going to do that, only now, she's going to get her chance on the court.

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Maddy McCormick

Ciera Pritchard

Kennedy Stanford

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