Madison Triplett admits she’s a people person.
She is also a junior outside hitter on El Capitan High’s women’s volleyball team, ranked No. 10 in the section. And she’s one of the captains of the team, which matches her personality.
“As captain, I try to be a friend and a leader. I try to find a balance,” the 5-foot-8 junior said. “I try to figure out how each person on the team likes to be motivated and make a connection. I think I’m someone people look up to on this team, so I guess that makes me a people person.
“Team members look to me for answers. I don’t always have them right away, but I will get them.
“It’s hard to get everyone on the same page. We lost five elders last year. Since we only have one this year (Alyssa DeYoung), we’re mostly juniors and sophomores, but it’s fun to watch the team grow together.
As of the week, El Capitan was 18-6, on a seven-game winning streak that included three straight Grossmont Hills League wins, which the Vaqueros went four straight unbeaten.
Madison Triplett points. Number 14 is Alyssa DeYoung.
(Courtesy picture)
Two years ago, El Capitan was 8-0, 6-0 in the league, in an abbreviated season. Last season, El Capitan finished 29-11. They were seeded No. 1 heading into the Division I playoffs before running into a Carlsbad sawsaw that swept the section playoff without dropping a set. Then El Cap fell to Etiwanda in the SoCal playoffs.
After coach Bert Novicio resigned, East County Volleyball Academy coach Brennan Pau was asked about the possibility of taking on this year’s team. Although he had decades of experience both at the high school level in Hawaii and with elite players at the club level, he initially declined.
He finally accepted. Although Triplett said both are great in their own way, she likes the way Pau is handling the young team.
“Coach Pau has been a big change,” said Triplett, who plays for the Coast Volleyball club team. “We have five coaches in the team, so we have a lot of help this year. We work hard every day and are very specific about our goals of wanting to win the league again, win the section and even the state playoffs.
“Volleyball is very important in El Capitan, I think we even surpass the basketball teams. I think we are just behind football. That’s why we’ve been so successful. Volleyball has a great support group.
Remember, standing 5-foot-8 isn’t exactly the mold for successful outside hitters — more like 6-3 or so — but she says she has no problem killing — even against taller players.
“I see it as a challenge to beat the bigger players,” said Triplett, who has 195 kills this year after picking up 375 a year ago. “Of course, it would be nice to be a little bigger, but…”
Triplett, the team’s most decorated player, debuted in 2018, when she was invited to Tennessee for the USA High Performance Camp. Then in 2019 she captained the SCVA HP team competing in Florida and in 2020 she was a member of the USA Volleyball Select team.
She is looking forward to going to Japan with Coast Volleyball this spring.
Pau, who says he has coached 17 All-Americans in nearly 40 years, thinks Triplett will add to that number.
“One, she can play any position,” Pau said. “She’s an outside hitter, but she’s ready to play wherever we ask her to. I believe she is the most respected player on the team, which is why she makes a good captain. She is the ideal captain on and off the field. Second, she’s a very tough competitor.
Triplett says it’s hard. But she’s faced adversity before, being there for her 7-year-old sister, Brooklynn, who has CDK05, a crippling genetic condition that prevents her from eating, talking and walking.
“There is no cure,” Triplett said. “She takes medication, but she has seizures every day – sometimes big, sometimes small. I love her and I will do whatever it takes to help her.
It’s the same attitude she brings to the El Capitan volleyball team and the one she will adopt in 2024 at UC Santa Barbara, which she has already verbally committed to after posting a 4.3 GPA .
“I could feel that the coaches were interested in me as a human being. When I went to a July camp there, it was the best experience. I felt like I was supposed to to be there. It matched my personality.
Being a people person and all.
Steve Brand is a freelance writer.
