KENTLAND — Madisyn Douglass was happy to be back on the court for a sectional volleyball match Tuesday.
It was just the Caston senior’s second match this season. She also played on senior night Sept. 29 against North Judson.
She suffered a torn ACL playing AAU basketball in early April. She had surgery just over five months ago April 28.
“I’m ready to be back,” Douglass said. “I’ve sat here all season and watched and I just want to be out there for my team and just support them in any way I can. And I’m just so excited to be back and be on the court. It feels so good.”
Douglass is one of the best athletes in the area. She was the Pharos-Tribune’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year last year.
The timing of her injury was not great but she at least did not have to miss her entire senior year of sports.
But it was still a difficult pill to swallow for Josh Douglass, Madisyn's father and the Caston girls basketball coach.
“I watched it and I knew exactly what had happened,” he said. “I ran over to her and she knew too, but I just tried to stay positive with her at the time. I was like, ‘It’ll be all right. It’ll be all right.’ But I’ve been around long enough to see and know what it was. It was gut-wrenching because I knew how important last summer was for her.”
Despite her injury, Madisyn did find her future school as she has verbally committed to play basketball at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame.
“I’m super excited. Coach (Rob) Hoffman is amazing and I love everything about the college,” she said. “So I’m super excited for what the next four years brings for me.”
Madisyn is also one of the smartest students in the area. She’s one of six finalists in Cass County for the Lilly Scholarship, one of the most significant scholarship opportunities available to Indiana students that provides full tuition, required fees and a $900 stipend for books and equipment to an in-state school.
She’s hoping to make the most of her senior year in sports for the Comets. She said her recovery from surgery is going well.
“My PT was pretty confident in how I was feeling. They said like, ‘You look really good. You’re doing really well,’” she said. “My doctor said I was over a month and a half ahead of schedule even at my firs appointment back after my surgery. So it just kind of worked out to everything aligned and they were just like, ‘OK, she’s ready.’”
The Comets got better as Tuesday’s match went along against DeMotte Christian, pulling away the final two sets for their ninth win of the year.
They’ll play No. 11 South Newton in a sectional semifinal Saturday in Kentland.
“The first couple sets there it took us a little bit to get our bearings underneath us,” Madisyn said. “But I think we’re really rallying and playing really well as a team together. We’re all supportive of each other and I think it’s only gonna help us and we’ll see how Saturday goes.”
Madisyn was a setter for the Comets last year but she’s helping in the back row and with serving for her comeback this year.
The plan for her in basketball is to take it slow at first and hopefully get to close to full strength for the second half of the season.
“We’re probably gonna start limited at first and ease into it,” she said. “We have a couple physical matchups early on, so we’re just trying to see how it goes. I’ve been running this week to get my legs underneath me and get back in shape. But I’m excited, we’ll see how it goes.”
The girls basketball team last year was like the volleyball team this year in that the Comets had a lot of close losses. The basketball team lost only defensive standout Camila Hernandez-Rios to graduation from last year’s team that went 11-13. The Comets and West Central are the sectional favorites going in on paper.
“We’ve got depth, we’ve got experience,” Josh Douglass said. “That’s what made it even more gut wrenching is knowing what we had back and knowing that we need her healthy. And that’s the big thing too. You get around Christmas, that’s nine months. Most of the time nine months and they’re cleared 100% to go after it. If we can just get to there, I’ll feel even better.”
Madisyn is looking to make the most of her senior year while battling back from a recently torn ACL.
“You want your best year to be your last and so that’s the goal,” she said.