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Plant's Martin happy to be at full strength

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By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2009

TAMPA - Plant senior outside hitter Maddie Martin is a different player this season.

That's because she's healthy.

Last season, the Penn State commit missed three weeks with an ankle injury, but returned mid-season to help Plant win its third consecutive 5A state title.

This season, she missed the preseason match against Venice with a shoulder injury, but was ready for the second match of the season.

Rated the 34th-best senior in the country by PrepVolleyball.com, Martin leads No. 10 nationally-ranked Plant with 235 kills, 143 digs and 27 aces.

"It feels really good," Martin said. "I've never really been injured before and it seems it all happened at once."

Now that's she healthy, Martin said there are some who are more interested in her health than she is.

"It's kind of funny because my parents kept asking me, 'So what percent are you now?' or 'On a scale of one to 10, how bad does it hurt?' I was like, 'Stop asking me about the scales, I hate those scales. I'll let you know when it is a 100 percent and when it does not hurt.' It feels good when people ask I can tell them I feel great."

"It's been great from a coaching perspective to enjoy her," Plant coach Leanna Taylor said. "It's been a great opportunity to let her get the 10 digs (in a match) and to see her be able to hit.

"It's kind of interesting because we tend to fall on her when she's healthy. When she was injured, Becca (Howard) had to put the ball into other people's hands. That was great for team chemistry."

Brandon wins AHN Invite title

Two of the top programs in Hillsborough County went head-to-head on Saturday, as Brandon defeated Sickles, 2-1, in a best-of-three championship match to win the Academy of the Holy Names Invitational.

Brandon won the first game, 25-23, but Sickles responded with a 25-13 victory in Game 2. In Game 3, the teams went point for point. There were four ties and three lead changes, but Brandon (16-5), with an 11-10 edge, went on a 4-0 run to win the match.

Senior middle hitter Audra Geniesse led Brandon with seven kills while junior Lindsey Watson added six. Junior libero Sammi Klemp finished with 13 digs.

"They didn't give up," Brandon coach Amy Watson said. "They showed some grit and they stayed with it the whole time."

Senior outside hitter Lauren Ramsey led Sickles (18-3) with nine kills, 10 digs and two aces.

"(Brandon's) defense was unbelievable," Sickles coach Rob Brashear said. "They got balls we're used to seeing hit the floor. They played really well."

Holy Names defeated Manatee to finish third.

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 259-7851.

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