Matt Levins- the Hawk Eye
GALESBURG, Ill. — Maddy Knapp didn’t have the volleyball season she was hoping for in her freshman year at Carl Sandburg College.
The Notre Dame High School graduate is chalking it up to a learning experience and moving on to softball.
That’s right. Knapp is playing two sports at the NJCAA Division II school, a tough double, but one Knapp is willing to tackle head on.
For Knapp, volleyball is on the back burner as she prepares for her freshman year of softball for the Chargers.
“Nothing is handed to you at this level. You have to work hard or someone else is going to take your position,” Knapp said. “You win as a team and you lose as a team. That helps build team chemistry. That’s very important for the team to be successful.”
Knapp started the volleyball season strong, but soon found herself on the bench watching. Still, she averaged 2.34 kills and 1.87 digs per set, but hit only .123 for the season, something she vows to work on for next season.
“I started off the season really well and actually ended up in the top 10 for kills at the NJCAA Division II level,” Knapp said. “It was kind of a roller-coaster season. I had a couple bad games and that landed me on the bench. It was definitely a change, but I can’t be sour about it. I had to watch and not be in the game, but I cheered for my teammates and tried to keep them up.”
Knapp said the transition to college volleyball was not that difficult, although the workload was far more than she was used to in high school, and the road trips can be a grind.
“Practices can get pretty repetitive,” Knapp said. “We had along stretch of road games with no home games for like a month. I think that led to the roller-coaster of a season. We were just exhausted from all the repetitions and all the road games.”
Knapp, an all-district softball player for West Burlington-Notre Dame, is gearing up for her freshman year of college softball, which begins next month.
She still has her eyes set on the future. She hopes to continue playing volleyball at a four-year school after Carl Sandburg.
“We have the same coach in volleyball and softball. I think that will help because I have gotten to know him and his style. That will help me a lot next season,” Knapp said. “I am learning that I’m not going to be handed everything. I have to work hard for my spot. I may not always get what I want, but I have to be a team player about it and think of the team first.”