River Hill Grad Part of Terps' Rise

Maddi Lee, during a standout volleyball career at , decided to attend the University of Maryland because of its location, campus setting and players on the volleyball team.

And despite a change in coaches at Maryland just before she arrived, Lee did not waiver on her decision to play for the Terps.

"I definitely wanted to go there," Lee told Patch on Wednesday, after Maryland opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a win Tuesday at Boston College.

Lee, now a senior outside hitter, is an only child and wanted to make sure her parents would be able to see her play on a regular basis in college.

The success of the team, or lack of, was not among the reasons that she headed to College Park. In 2007, the year before she arrived, the Terps were 10-12 overall and when she was a freshman Maryland was 6-26 overall and 2-18 in the ACC.

"It was a rebuilding program," she said. "The new coach (Tim Horsmon) had to re-establish his techniques and rules. We have got to know his style of coaching. That has really helped."

"I can tell the freshmen what to expect," added the Clarksville resident. "I am expected to step up, since there are so many freshmen on the team. This year is definitely my best year, which obviously it should be."

Now as a senior Lee is part of a renewal in the program under fourth-year head coach Horsmon, a Frostburg State grad and the former head coach at the University of Dayton. Maryland has improved from 14-19 overall in 2009 to 19-13 overall and 10-10 in the ACC last season.

The Terps improved to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in the ACC this year with a 3-0 win on Tuesday at Boston College as Lee had two kills for the Terps. Maryland hosts North Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. and North Carolina State on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Comcast Center.

Earlier this season Lee was named to the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Terrapin Invitational all-tournament team. She had 10 kills and nine blocks against Sacred Heart on Sept. 10 and 15 kills against Yale on Sept. 9. Lee had 10 kills against nationally-ranked Tennessee in late August.

Last year as a junior she played in 34 matches and had 219 kills. She had a career-best 307 kills as a sophomore for the Terps.

"I think Maddi is a lead-by-example type of kid," Horsmon said. "She works hard every day. There is no one that has been more consistent in coming to work every day. I think she is someone we have counted on to be in the lineup every day. She makes no excuses. She has a great attitude."

Lee led River Hill to the state finals in 2007, when she had 413 kills, 179 digs and 49 service aces as an all-Met player as chosen by The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post. Off the court she was a member of the National Honor Society and with her club team, Maryland Juniors, played in China when she was in high school.

She is the daughter of John Lee and Patricia Childs of Clarksville and a recipient of the Dean and Etta Ray Griffin scholarship at Maryland.

Lee is on track to graduate in the spring with a degree in kinesiology. She is looking to attend graduate school but is open to trying to play pro volleyball, perhaps overseas, if the opportunity arises.

But for now she is trying to help the Terps make post-season play, which would have seemed an unrealistic goal back in 2008.

"Every year we have been improving. One of our goals is to get to the NCAA tournament. We may have been just one win away last year," Lee said.