Deer Lakes grad Madison Friess named captain for Pitt-Greensburg women’s volleyball after huge freshman season
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Pitt-Greensburg women’s volleyball coach Kevin Conroy didn’t wait long to name one of his captains for the 2024 season. Immediately after the 2023 season concluded — the Bobcats went 6-21 overall and 3-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference — he pulled freshman Madison Friess aside.
The job was hers, even though she had played only one season of college volleyball. But Conroy had seen enough.
“The leadership and character stuff that I really didn’t get a chance to know previously, she just blew my mind in those areas,” said Conroy, heading into his third season at the helm of the Bobcats. “She’s a natural leader. … She’s the first one to show up for practice, last one to leave, leads by example.
“She models what everyone should be doing on the court, on the sidelines during a game, between games, before games, after games.”
It doesn’t hurt that she can play a little.
The Deer Lakes grad led the Bobcats in points (286), points per set (3.40), kills (225), kills per set (2.68) and total aces (38). She became the first player in program history to post at least 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match when she had 26 kills and 27 digs against Carlow in October.
The 26 kills in a match were the second-highest total in program history. She reached double digits in kills in seven other matches and had two other matches with at least 20 digs, on her way to averaging 2.98 per set.
Friess, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, also had six aces against Pitt-Bradford.
At the conclusion of the season, she earned third-team All-AMCC recognition.
“I would not be surprised if she breaks the school (season) record for kills this year,” Conroy said. “I certainly think she’s capable, and we have the team around her capable of supporting her in doing that.”
Said Friess: “As a freshman, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. At first, I was a little nervous, so I think I was a little more hesitant. But I think once we got into it, I feel like, personally, I was ready to play full speed.
“In high school, I also played all six rotations, but coming into college, I was like, (Conroy) might only want me to hit. He might only want me to play defense. I wasn’t really sure. … I was hoping (playing all six rotations) would carry into college, so I was really happy that I was able to do that for the team.”
Despite everything Friess was able to accomplish, Conroy said he believes she was capable of even bigger numbers. But as the team struggled to get wins and opponents started to key on Friess, the stats became harder to accumulate.
Conroy said he already has informed Friess she will get even more attention from the opposition this season. This time around, however, he said she will have the supporting cast to ease some of the pressure.
Conroy was effusive in his praise of his incoming freshmen, who he believes will help the Bobcats make a vast improvement.
Meanwhile, Friess spent the offseason preparing for the added responsibility.
On the court, she frequently played pick-up matches with her former club team and worked on her serve receive. Off the court, she developed a greater appreciation for her coaches while helping the Deer Lakes program over the summer.
“Being able to coach those girls made me think, ‘Those coaches really know what they’re doing,’ ” she said. “You need to pay attention to their advice. They’re only trying to make you better. Even though sometimes you might get mad, they really are trying to better your game.”
That experience could go a long way in helping her become the proverbial coach on the floor as she steps into her captaincy. Friess said she likes to talk on the court, making sure everyone is in the right spots and picking up teammates when they make a mistake.
Her approach isn’t likely to change, but she admitted having the formal title of “captain” seemed a little daunting.
“At first, I was a little nervous about that,” she said. “I’m still young and everything. But I think the team really sees who leads on the court and who has the positivity on the court to lead. So I think that everybody is starting to buy into it and understand why the captains are who they are.”
Part of the Bobcats’ struggles last season could be attributed to a roster that had only three seniors. The good news is many of the returning players got plenty of experience last season, which has Conroy optimistic about a big jump in wins this fall.
And though his team should have more depth and talent, Friess, he said, will remain the centerpiece.
“We need to better utilize her as a weapon,” he said. “That’s part of our plan. Everyone’s aware of it. We need to feed her the ball, set up plans and schemes that get her the ball more so she can have more of those opportunities.
“She will lead us as far as we can go.”
And that, Friess said, will be at least a berth in the conference tournament.
“We have a lot of talent coming in,” she said. “We have a lot of talented players who are very motivated to get to the next level. I think we have an exciting year ahead of us.
“We do have quite a few returners, and everybody does get along really well. I think we’re going to be in the playoffs, showing everybody what we can do.”