Bruder boosts Bearcats
PHOTO COURTESY OF TODD WEDDLE/NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
Northwest Missouri State University sophomore Maddy Bruder is leading the MIAA in kills per set as a sophomore and has helped the program get off to its fastest start in school history.
There are plenty of reasons why the No. 22 Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team (12-0) is off to its best start in school history and in the Top 25 for the first time.
One of the biggest reasons is a 5-foot-11, blonde-haired outside hitter from Firth, Nebraska with a mean swing. Sophomore Maddy Bruder hails from a small town of about 500 people. While Maryville’s population of more than 12,000 may be a metropolis in comparison, it didn’t feel that way to her when she visited for the first time. It reminded her of home.
“I love that small town atmosphere,” she said. “That was one of the main reasons I came to Maryville. Living in Firth, I loved being 20 minutes away from Lincoln and an hour and a half away from Omaha. I grew up on 20 acres and enjoyed having my freedom.”
While she may have a small town background, she has been doing big things on the volleyball court for a long time.
She led Norris High School to a Class B State Championship in 2013 and helped them make two other state tournament appearances. As a sophomore, she earned all-state and all-district honors. In her senior season at Norris, she hit .378 while averaging 4.5 kills per set.
She was also a standout on her club team — the Nebraska Elite, out of Omaha— but Bruder was playing a different position when she was discovered.
“I remember when (assistant coach) Alana (Wittenburg) came and watched me play, we were at a tournament in Minnesota and I was playing middle (hitter). She saw me play middle and thought about me coming here as a middle. I went through that and then they talked about me being a versatile hitter. When I got here freshman year, they put me at outside.”
She didn’t have any trouble adjusting to the bigger stage that is NCAA Division II volleyball.
Bruder was selected to the All-MIAA first team as a freshman, as she finished sixth in the conference with 324 kills over the course of 94 matches. That was good for a 3.45 kills per set average, which was the highest on the team. She had double-digit kills in 19 matches and also had double-digit digs in 11 matches. The Bearcats finished 15-14 overall that season and 8-10 in conference play.
This season, Bruder is averaging 3.87 kills per set and has 172 total kills on the year. Her 3.87 kills per set is tops in the MIAA and she is third in the MIAA in total kills. Of the 12 matches the Bearcats have played, she has failed to register double-digit kills just twice. Bruder’s season-high is 21 kills during a 3-2 (25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 14-25, 17-15) win over No. 24 Rockhurst.
Like most things on a volleyball court, the transition was easy for her.
“Playing in front of bigger crowds and playing in bigger arenas and everything is something I had to adjust to, but it wasn’t something that was hard for me to get used to.”
The numbers have always been there for Bruder, but it’s her attitude and her leadership abilities teammates that have impressed her coaches and teammates.
She has the demeanor of an upperclassman.
“Maddy is a great player and person all around,” junior Darcy Sunderman said. “She is kind of the heart and soul of the team. She has great energy and she’s super competitive. She’s just been a great role model and a great leader to really come in and impact this team. She’s a really easy person to follow. That’s part of the reason she’s had such an impact.”
Sunderman said she was surprised at first by Bruder’s natural ability to take control over situations, but now she knows it’s second nature and it’s expected from her at this point.
Bruder said the biggest improvement she made from her freshman season to her sophomore season is maintaining balance on the court.
“One thing that the coaches and I talked a lot about is just to stay consistent,” she said. “Instead of having really high high’s and really low low’s just staying right in between there and try to be very level-headed. They told me to find a flow and go with it in a match.”
Northwest head coach Amy Woerth said she was able to get to that consistency level by simply gaining more experience in the program.
“It’s just growing up,” Woerth said. “Nothing really catches her off-guard now because she’s experienced it all. She stays pretty even-keeled. She has really learned a lot from her freshman year and that’s because she’s been open to stuff and having conversations with me about how she can improve. It’s a perfect storm because she’s a mature individual and has a good head on her shoulders.”
Bruder said the coaches also talked about impacting her teammates and making them better.
“I’m very hard on myself as an athlete, so they wanted me to go outside of that and worry about helping my teammates first before helping myself. That’s one of the biggest adjustments I’ve made.”
Building team chemistry is a two-way street.
Bruder wouldn’t have been able to adapt and feel comfortable without her teammate’s acceptance.
“We all have really good relationships with each other,” she said. “I have a very good connection with the underclassmen and upperclassmen. Everyone has different things they bring to the team. Knowing that the upperclassmen have that strong leadership role, I think that helps me understand that I can fill in the gaps. They are always wanting other people’s input.”
Bruder has always felt comfortable taking control in team huddles. It’s a skill she developed while playing with the Elite.
The message with her club coach was clear — control situations that can be controlled and if a break is needed, take one to regroup mentally and physically.
When the coaching staff saw her play during the club volleyball days, they knew they had to get her in a green and white uniform.
“When we were recruiting her, we knew she was going to be a game-changer,” Woerth said. “She wanted to come in here and change this program with us. She was very adamant about her opinion as an 18-year-old, to come in and make this volleyball program something. It was really fun to hear that and it’s always fun to see that she’s backing it up. She’s a very hard worker and if she says she’s going to do something, she backs it up and gets it done. She doesn’t settle for things.”
One of the things that really stands out to Woerth about Bruder is her drive and focus.
She said it’s the main reason why she wasn’t fazed when she moved from high school volleyball to the college game.
“A higher-level player has a very high focus point,” Woerth said. “Her focus is very intense and very high. Sometimes getting in her brain just to talk to her is hard because she’s so driven to get those things done. She just wears that on her sleeve. There’s a lot of people on our team besides her that have that same stubbornness. Sometimes, as a coach, it annoys you, but it serves them and your team very well. It’s a joy to coach her.”
By DAVID MERRILL Sports reporter
Northwest Missouri State University’s Maddy Bruder tries to push the ball over the Truman State block during the Bearcats’ 3-0 win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday. She had a team-high 15 kills in the match.
By DAVID MERRILL Sports reporter
Northwest sophomore Maddy Bruder goes high above the ground for a kill attempt against Truman State on Tuesday. She has been a key piece to the Bearcats’ success so far this season.
