By her junior year, she was focused on helping the Black Tornado go for a state tournament trophy. We have a lot of leadership on this team. Maldonado learned her craft, in part, from observing older players. I saw how much they could influence a team. Maldonado has had similar influence on her North teammates.
Setters can t get up and down.
They ve got to keep making hitters feel they re confident in them, even if a hitter doesn t make the play. They have to tell the hitter, they ll get the next ball or keep them in the game. Maldonado touches as many as 1,000 balls during daily doubles, Beick says, and between 500-800 most practices. As a result, much of what she does during a match is second nature. The fact she s working that hard carries over to the emotional side.