City College volleyball player Maddy Berridge,18, plans on majoring in criminal justice but eventually might end up digging her way to a four-year university.
In volleyball, the term “digging” refers to when a player prevents the ball from hitting his or her side of the court after the opponents has either spiked or served the ball to the team. It’s a move usually done with two hands. Berridge’s position on defense, called a libero, means she is in the game to attack every ball she can and to get digs, a valuable skill sought after by coaches.
“She is the top digger in the state of California based on her digs per set,” says Nash. “She is solid on serve receives and usually passes half our court because of her low errors and consistent pass rating.”
Born into a family of athletes and the baby of the bunch, Berridge says she grew up a natural competitor with something to prove to her older brothers and sister.
“I basically had to choose a sport, and get really good at it,” says Berridge.
While attending Union Mine High School in Placerville, Berridge was an All Metro player who helped lead her team in 2011 to a Division 4 State Championship. Now, as a freshman at City College, Berridge’s head coach Laurie Nash and teammates say her competiveness and drive to succeed are backed up by action.
“She leads by example and constantly tries to lead this team by her desire to raise the level of our game and play better as a team,” says Nash.
Nash has only known Berridge for six months but says she feels like she has known her even longer because she is so easy going and very self-confident.
“Maddy appears to be very laid-back as a volleyball player, but is very intense and pushes herself and her teammates to be their best,” says Nash. “I enjoy coaching Maddy because she has a high volleyball IQ [knowledge of the game] and is extremely reliable as a libero.”
Berridge has been playing volleyball since elementary school and says she is inspired by her role model and professional beach volleyball player Misty Mae, whom she met when she was 13 at her junior high school.
“It was really, really cool,” she says of the meeting.
Emily Seros, a 19-year-old outside hitter and captain of the team says Berridge is very competitive, but also funny and caring.
“She can tell me straight when I’m not performing to my highest potential and always tells me that I’m alright when I make a mistake,” she says. “When I put a ball away she is the one that is jumping up and down with me in excitement.”
Off the court, Berridge rock climbs regularly with her boyfriend and plans on skydiving for a second time from at least 18,000 feet in a couple of months.
“The feeling [skydiving] is unlike any other feeling in the world,” she says.
The athlete compares the feeling of adrenaline she gets from sky diving to the feeling she gets on the volleyball court and says she takes that level of intensity into every single game.
That intensity translates to helping her fellow athletes on the court.
“Maddy is definitely a team player,” says Seros. “She will put her body out on the line to get a ball up.”
Nash says she believes Berridge will achieve her goals.
“She has high aspirations to play volleyball at a major university,” says Nash. “She understands what it takes to get there.”
Berridge says she is driven to reach her goals while playing at City College.
“All I do is sports,” says Berridge. “It [volleyball] is the best thing in my life. It’s what drives me every day and I don’t what I would do without it.”
