All-Delco Volleyball: Maddie Wood’s leadership set stage for Garnet Valley’s ‘dream season’

CONCORD — Everyone sees the hitters in volleyball. The big swings are what brings the oohs and aahs from the crowd as well as the players on both teams.

Setters, though, are the players who set the tone. They make those big hits possible. They’re the quarterback, point guard and leader, and Garnet Valley had the best setter in Delaware County over the last three seasons, maybe ever, in Maddie Wood.

The 5-foot-7 senior was the engine that made the Jaguars go and as her game grew so did her leadership skills.

Wood learned that you can’t deal with every player the same. She admits to being a yeller earlier in her career but learned that method doesn’t always work. Players have to be handled differently. Some responded to an aggressive approach. You can yell at them, get in their face. Others have to be handled a little more delicately.

“It comes with maturity,” Wood said. “As a freshman, I pushed my teammates. I held my teammates to a very high standard. That hasn’t changed but I’ve found a form of communication that works better than a more aggressive form of communication. Lately, I will see what each player needs, if they need to have a private conversation or if I can just say it out to them. I’ve used different forms of communications with my teammates to help them grow.”

Garnet Valley coach Mark Clark credited Wood’s leadership as much as her physical skills as the driving forces behind the Jaguars’ playoff run that resulted in a District 1 Class 4A title and a berth in the PIAA Class 4A final, where Garnet Valley dropped a 3-1 decision to six-time champion North Allegheny.

“Her leadership was off the charts, especially in the playoffs,” Clark said. “She really stepped up her leadership game in the postseason. She’s really honed her skills and learned how to get the most out of her teammates.”

For that, Wood is the Daily Times Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

Joining Wood on the All-Delco team are her sister, Sarah and Garnet Valley teammate Kelly St. Germain; Notre Dame’s Margo Kemp, Sacred Heart’s Emily McKenna, Sun Valley’s Jenna Jones and Cardinal O’Hara’s Jasmine Sullivan.

Maddie Wood is a three-time, first-team All-Delco selection. St. Germain, Kemp, McKenna and Jones are repeat picks. Maddie Wood, St. Germain, Kemp and McKenna are seniors, Jones and Sullivan are juniors, Sarah Wood is the only freshman on the All-Delco team, which was selected by the Daily Times sports staff after consultation with county coaches.

Maddie Wood put up phenomenal numbers for the Jaguars. She posted 1,017 assists as a senior to bring her career total to an astonishing 2,806 helpers. The Daily Times does not keep county records for volleyball but it’s hard to believe that anyone had more career assists than Wood, especially when you consider one of those seasons was the COVID year of 2020, when the Jaguars only played 12 matches. She had only 28 errors in 466 service attempts for a .939 serve percentage.

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