Plant VB star commits to Penn State

Plant volleyball star Maddie Martin, a rising junior, has committed to Penn State. Martin was a first-team all-state pick last fall after leading the Panthers to their second straight Class 5A state title.

Penn State is the defending NCAA national champion.

Martin, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, chose the Nittany Lions over two dozen other offers.

"Everything about it was just perfect," Martin said of the school. "It's such a relief to know I don't have to worry about it any more."

Martin took two unofficial visits to Penn State this summer.

"My parents asked me, 'What don't you like about it?'" Martin said. "And I was like, 'There's nothing I don't like about it.' It's just the perfect place to be for me."

Martin, an AAU and Junior Olympic All-American, said committing early these days is wise in volleyball.

"There aren't many positions on the court, so you want to get your spot fast," Martin said. "If you have the opportunity, you want to take it."

In addition to playing for Plant, Martin also has been a standout with the Tampa Bay Juniors. Her coach with that organization, John Coup, recently described her as being one of high school volleyball's "big fish" on the national scene.

Penn State, a national women's volleyball power, won its second national championship last season, going 34-2 and beating Stanford in a memorable five-set title match.

The Nittany Lions also won the national championship in 1999. They've been to the NCAA tournament 27 times in the program's 31-year history and have won the Big Ten 11 times, including the past five seasons. Head coach Russ Rose, who will be entering his 30th season in Happy Valley, has 925 career wins.

Martin will not be the first college athlete in her family. Her father, Mike, played football at Kentucky. One brother, Cam, is a wide receiver at Michigan State. The other, Luke, will be a defensive back this fall at Elon. Martin's mother, Gayle Sierens, is a longtime news anchor for News Channel 8.

--KEITH NIEBUHR and EDUARDO A. ENCINA

Comments

[Keith Niebuhr]

Just an FYI: Expect several more commitments from local schools in the next 3-4 months. As usual, this area is LOADED.

[Karry]

Good pick Maddie!

[Mace]

What's not to like at Penn State: two words - snow and cold.

[CREW]

uh, hello, volleyball is played inside. Nice work genious

[Mace]

"Uh" should be capitalized and that would be spelled "genius". You must be a Penn State graduate.

[Kevin]

penn state is one of the highest rated academic schools in the country so try again mace.

[Mace]

OK, if you insist. Both "Penn" and "State" should be capitalized. There should be a comma after country. Given the grammatical quality of his posting, I'm guessing that Kevin meant county and not country.

[Josh]

Let's get back to the point. The girl is going on a full ride to play volleyball for the number one team in the nation. You go Maddie Martin!