If Marist coach Jordan Vidovic heard it once, he heard it … well, at least several times regarding Maddie Berry, his four-year varsity setter.
“I heard from my own coaches, observers, spectators,” Vidovic said. “They said we would never win a state title with Maddie in the front row.”
Why? It had nothing to do with lack of fortitude or her technical ability or her work ethic. She was widely admired by those who watched her play.
It was simply because she was 5-foot-3.
“Yeah, it was her height,” Vidovic said. “They felt that the big-time players would take advantage of her. But I reminded myself that every time we’ve overcome what we needed to do and do something special, it has been with kids with certain qualities.
“Those are the qualities she has. So I felt that if we were going to go out, if we were going to lose, it was going to be with somebody like her.”
Surprise!
Maddie Berry did indeed lead Marist to a Class 4A state title. And the Davenport recruit will leave as one of the winningest setters in the program history for the RedHawks.
The 2024 Daily Southtown Girls Volleyball Player of the Year smiled when talking about the doubters. She more or less thanked them for giving her an extra boost of motivation.
“I kind of used it to my advantage,” Berry said. “I knew I had to work harder than everyone else. So I said, ‘Oh, I’ll be in the gym longer. I’ll be the loudest. I’ll work the hardest. I don’t care if you are taller than me. I’m going to work harder than you.’
“My height was my motivation to better myself.”
As a senior, Berry tallied 731 assists, 254 digs and 26 aces during a season filled with adjustments and changes both in the lineup and game plans. She handled them all, and during the stretch run, was operating an offense that was the most powerful in the state.
In their final five matches, the RedHawks (33-9) beat Lincoln-Way East, Mother McAuley, Normal West, Lockport and Benet — which were a combined 177-23. Marist had already lost to three of them during the regular season.
For Berry, it was last-chance volleyball.
“After the past three years I was almost, like, worried,” Berry said. “We couldn’t get past that one big game. I kind of felt that it had to do with me since I do run the offense and I’m the one who was supposed to glue everyone together.
“After my junior season, I said, ‘You really need to lock this. We need to get past this hurdle. We need to win this.’”
The RedHawks then started this fall without standout outside hitter Bella Bullington due to an injury. The Northwestern recruit wouldn’t play in the front row until October.
It was the first time during her high school career that Berry didn’t have her hitting partner.
“It was a struggle because she is my go-to hitter,” Berry said of Bullington. “I’m going to set her more than half of the balls usually every single game. It was definitely different adjusting, but she did a really good job helping the other outsides out.”
And Berry did a really good job working with them during matches.
“There was never a doubt in my mind,” Bullington said. “I know her, and I know the type of hard worker and player that she is.
“Maddie is one of the most competitive people ever. She ran over a table (in the final against Benet). She will literally run through a wall to get a ball. We’ve had a lot of scenarios like that.”
The Berry-Bullington tandem, meanwhile, was back together — this time as state champions.
“I think the first thing we said was probably something like, ‘We finally did it,’” Bullington said. “It still feels surreal. That’s something Maddie and I have been talking about and looking for, for such a long time.
“To have us be the constant throughout these four years we’ve had together, and finally realize it with each other, was amazing.”
So is the mark Berry has left on Marist volleyball.
“Maddie is not a Power Five player, right?” Vidovic said. “She’s not a big-time Division I commit, mainly because of things she can’t control. But she never let that affect her.
“Over the years, she has been able to be gritty, to grind and be tough. She has been the perfect representation of our program. She has been the perfect representation of South Side volleyball.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
