Madison McCartney upholds leadership role for Lehigh Volleyball

Lehigh volleyball’s Madison McCartney was named a team captain her junior year. 

Now a senior, she’s no longer a captain, but that hasn’t stopped her from being a leader on the court. 

Coach Shawn McLaughlin, who was hired this year, changed the program for the 2025 season by removing captain titles.

“We don’t have captains because we don’t believe that one person should bear all of that responsibility,” McLaughlin said. 

He said without the title, McCartney is free from the pressure that comes with the label, but she still continues to work hard. 

McCartney, the primary middle blocker, ranked fifth overall in the Patriot League with 35 service aces and second in aces per set at 0.39 in her junior season. She ranked sixth in the Patriot League with 115 total blocks, fifth with 19 solos and tied for fourth with 96 assists. 

“She is the workhorse of the team,” McLaughlin said. “She’s the first one to complete something, she’s the first one to try to fight through and she’s the first one to do things. That’s just who she is.”

McCartney started her senior year with 22 blocks and an all-tournament team finish at the Steel Classic Tournament on Sept. 12-13.

In both 2023 and 2024, McCartney was chosen for the Academic All-Patriot League Team.

“(McCartney) is the exact example of someone who sets the tone for what the team is gonna be,” assistant coach Gabriel Woffindin said. “She’s very much a lead-by-example person. She’s not always gonna be super vocal, but she can be, and she wants to beat everyone with her work ethic.”

Woffindin said he was proud to see McCartney improve from her hard work in practice, and everyone has noticed it. He said it’s been nice to see her effort translate into success on the court. 

Sophomore teammate Sophia Bond said McCartney is a reliable and strong teammate.

“When you see someone working that hard, it’s difficult to slack off, so she is working hard to hold our team to a higher standard,” Bond said.

Even though she’s performed well, McCartney said tournaments are tough because of the amount of sets played in a short amount of time, which can take both a mental and physical toll. 

In order to prepare for gamedays, McLaughlin created a new approach that starts during the days leading up to a tournament.

“The two days before we do a no-jump practice, we play on a low net, and then the day before is like a medium-ish practice to get us ready,” McCartney said.

At first, McCartney said she was skeptical of the new routine, but in the end, the change was easier on her body and helped her perform well at the Steel Classic Tournament, where the team finished 2-1.

While McLaughlin’s practice style is new to McCartney, her love for the game has always prevailed.

But volleyball wasn’t always her sport. For the Arlington Virginia native, her career started at 13-years-old after a soccer phase.

“I was a center back for soccer, so if I made a mistake, we could lose the entire game,” McCartney said. “I think being an athlete is part of handling that pressure. When playing volleyball, if I make one mistake, we lose one point, that’s ok. We can come back and win the next point.”

With 25 points in each set, and at least three sets per game, McCartney said’s never just one person’s fault, which eases the pressure and helps her feel more supported.

Though she doesn’t remember why she started playing volleyball, McCartney said she remembers when she fell in love with the sport.

“I was not very good, but I was just having a lot of fun, so I kept going,” she said. “I had a really great club team all through high school. I stayed with the same team from eighth grade to my senior year, and playing with them made me realize I couldn’t be at a school without a team.”

McCartney said she enjoys the physical support on the court during the game, but also the support from her teammates.

Bond said when something goes wrong, everyone can lean on McCartney, and she always has her teammates’ backs. 

“Her ability to constantly give to other people and not be thinking about herself and be selfless affects our team dynamic wildly,” Bond said. “When other people do that it’s contagious and  helps the culture on our team.”