Dec. 11, 2024
Record-breaking Ferris State volleyball setter Kaylee Maat cherishes her Bulldog experience as team heads to Elite Eight
Senior Kaylee Maat has already set herself apart in the college volleyball world with a list of accomplishments that continues growing as a standout setter for the nationally top-ranked Ferris State University volleyball team.
Maat, a native of Hudsonville in the Grand Rapids area, became Ferris State's all-time career leader in assists. Her success didn't stop there. She became the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's all-time assist leader, with more than 5,000 career assists (5,722), passing former Grand Valley State University standout Kristy Kale (5,441).
Off the court, Maat has been a model student-athlete who graduates on Friday, Dec. 13, from the College of Arts, Sciences and Education with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.
In life after volleyball, Maat is looking forward to a career in teaching while remaining and planting roots in West Michigan, a region that has been and will continue to be special to her.
Maat is not ready for volleyball to be over. She and her teammates celebrated winning the 2024 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship on Saturday, Dec. 7, in a thrilling 3-2 win over the University of Findlay in Big Rapids before a capacity crowd in Bulldog Arena.
That achievement, hoisting that trophy, is a team-focused bragging point.
For Maat, who has received many individual honors during her decorated career, it's all about the team's success. She earned first-team all-region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, GLIAC Setter of the Year accolades and first-team all-conference recognition.
"I think those honors and records are cool things, but they're not goals I set for myself coming into the season or career. It's a cool thing to have happened along the way, but what we're all in it for is having team success," Maat said. "My success is based on getting good passes and my hitters getting the kills. But I couldn't do anything without getting good balls coming to me from my passers."
Maat, one of eight Bulldog seniors this fall, fondly reflects on how far she and the day-one senior class members have come over the years.
"I think the best word to describe what we've all been through together, as seniors, is 'fun,'" she said. "I think back to those days when we were young freshmen, practicing with great seniors like Katie (O'Connell) and Nina (Gorgijevska-Dovichinski). We've gone through so much together and had to figure it out along the way. As we've been working together to figure it out, we have had the funnest journey, strengthening our friendships and growing into what we are now."
This season, the Bulldogs have figured things out with a record of 34-0, heading to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to begin play in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Ferris State is increasingly getting every team's best shot. In no match was that more clear, perhaps, than in the regional championship match as the Bulldogs worked five sets to outlast the Findlay Oilers to earn the regional championship trophy.
Maat, a competitor on the court who is as intense as it gets, credits longtime and successful head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm and the staff for helping the team stay on track.
"Tia does a really good job of getting us to stay focused on one day at a time and seeing where the work we put in takes us," said Kaylee, who also has 317 career kills as a setter. "We keep learning and keep growing along the way. We've strengthened our relationships and do what we can to pick each other up when needed. If someone is having a bad day, we want to do what we can to help so we remain strong as a team."
Coming to Ferris State out of high school was the right move, said Maat, a three-time all-conference, all-area and all-region selection as a prep at Hudsonville.
"I think I always knew I wanted to stay close to home," she said. "Having my parents (Kevin and Shelley Maat) so close has been great for me. It has made sure that I always have them as part of my support system. I think they've only missed five games my entire career, but they've always been there in one way or another, and it's a great feeling to know I can look up in the stands and see them supporting me."
Maat hopes to be playing in the national semifinals on her scheduled graduation day and before she begins student teaching.
The senior setter and her teammates will take on Bentley in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. The winner advances to the national semifinals on Friday, Dec. 13. The national championship match is on Saturday, Dec. 14.