“This is just a really special program,” Indiana Volleyball player Madi Sell said.

Sell is a junior middleblocker for the Hoosiers in her first season donning the cream and crimson. She’s having a career year and career highs in every single stat across the board.

The Ballwin, Missouri native has been playing volleyball for as long as she can remember. She committed to the University of Missouri at 14 after being scouted in the club volleyball circuit.

After a solid freshman year at Mizzou and sitting out her sophomore year with a right leg injury, she transferred to Indiana in the spring of 2024.

She transferred after meeting only an assistant coach who left before the 2024 season, and senior teammate Camryn Hayworth.

Sell says both the program and people are what make Indiana special to her. Head Coach Steve Aird’s affection for Madi Sell the person is what means the most to her.

“Every time I get in [his office] it’s just, ‘How are you doing? How can I help? Whatever you need’ It just means a lot because it’s never anything about volleyball,” Sell said.

For the first time in her collegiate career, Sell felt valued as more than just an athlete.

Prior to being in Indiana, she turned to her faith in God to get her through the season.

Before every game, she tucks her cross necklace, which she wears daily, into her right sock. It’s her way of playing with Christ since she can’t wear it around her neck.

“It just means a lot to know that I’m playing for something bigger than myself and the sport,” Sell said. “I’m playing for the people that can’t play. I’m playing for any of my teammates that might be on the bench. For my coaches that pour their lives into this program. Like I’m playing for so much more and I’m playing for God especially.”

Playing for something bigger than herself has taught Sell how much her sport means to a community. And how much Indiana volleyball means to Bloomington.

“It’s a constant reminder of how far I’ve come in my journey and how much I have to be grateful for,” Sell said.

Part of Sell’s journey was improving her mental health. The mental side of athletics is what Sell calls the “most hidden side” yet she says it’s the “most important side.” She even has a phrase this semester.

“It is what you make it.”

Sell has made this season her best.

Career bests in every stat, kills went from 97 to 119, total assists jumped from 225 to 279, 74 blocks turned up to 94, and she beat her best season in kills by 40, 139 to 179.

A key to her improvement in skill and health is her roommate and fellow transfer teammate Delaynie Maple.

Maple is a graduate transfer from the University of Southern California. She played beach volleyball for four years and won the national championship four times.

She came to Indiana for her first season on hardwood in years and for her first time in the Midwest.

Both Sell and Maple had to adjust together. Maple and Sell used the same word to describe their journey of working into the program, “seamless”.

“[Sell] was so easy to get to know and I’d felt like I’d known [Sell] my whole life,” Maple said. “Which was so funny because I had literally met her like an hour before.”

Sell and Maple have worked together to improve one another throughout the season, both on and off the court.

“Being able to talk through a bad practice or a life situation with her and see how she views that has been huge for me because I think I’ve been able to learn a lot from her especially,” Sell said.

These two seem to be on a wavelength because when Maple was asked how she helped Sell, she said it was Sell who helped her.

“[Sell] is always empowered me and made me feel seen, she was always there to talk,” Maple said. “She’ll chat your ear off forever but it’s because she cares and then she’ll listen.”

Maple said that was the biggest adjustment from Los Angeles to the Midwest, people care.

*Maple interview section talking about differences in Midwest and home*

Sell cares most about impacting the people around her positively while uplifting herself. It’s the biggest lesson she’s learned on her journey of faith and improving her mental health.

“Because I am not my sport, I am so much more than that.”