Troy University Athletics
Johnson's Journal - Madison Marx: Defying the Odds
8/26/2026 9:24:00 AM | Volleyball
Troy University volleyball player Madison Marx is accustomed to defying the odds - from surviving childhood cancer to becoming a standout player despite being undersized for the sport.
"Growing up, my parents always told me, 'You're undersized; you have to work 10 times harder to get even with someone else," Marx said.
"I think I always had a mindset of being almost like an underdog, kind of, because you wouldn't expect someone who is 5-4 is going to be a setter that is going to be good at volleyball."
A native of Franklin, Wisconsin, Marx had a tremendous freshman season a year ago in leading the Trojans with 535 assists, along with tallying 28 service aces and compiling 182 digs while appearing in all 26 matches and 101 sets.
"We knew we were probably going to be in a two-setter system during Madison's first year," Troy volleyball head coach Josh Lauer said. "We had four setters on the roster at the time, and our responsibility as a team is to put the best people out there to play.
"Madison did a great job and kind of took the reins, along with Jordan Sinness (senior in 2025), and never looked back."
It shouldn't be surprising that Marx stepped up and found success.
After all, she's been a fighter her entire life.
Lauer recalls riding in the car with Marx and her mother, Dawn, during their recruiting visit at Troy. Something her mother shared tugged at Lauer's heart.
"She got a little emotional and said, 'This is my miracle baby. The chances of her survival after her cancer was really low, and she made it,'" Lauer remembers.
Beating childhood cancer
Marx was nine months old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
"I was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma," Marx said. "I don't remember any of it because I was so young."
The disease, which forms in soft tissues, caused a tumor to develop in her stomach.
"It turned into stage 4 (cancer) because it spread to my bone marrow and then some other parts," Marx said. "I went through radiation and chemotherapy and surgery … all that stuff that comes with cancer before I was even one."
The surgery to remove the tumor was successful.
"By the time I was like one-and-a-half, I was fully cancer free," Marx said. "Obviously, I had routine checkups to make sure it didn't come back."
Though cured of the disease, another surgery would eventually be necessary.
"Going into sixth grade, I had reconstructive surgery because there was a part in my stomach when they took out the tumor that had closed up," Marx said. "They had to go back in and re-open that so it could work properly."
From basketball to volleyball
Even though both parents played volleyball on the college level and her father became a coach in the sport, Marx preferred basketball early on.
"I knew both my parents played and I kind of wanted to do my own thing," Marx said. "I didn't start playing volleyball until I was about 12.
"My dad doesn't like to say it, but he kind of pushed me to go into it a little bit. My parents always told me that if I was going to play one sport, I had to play two sports growing up. Volleyball was my second one because basketball was still my thing.
"But as I started playing volleyball more, I was like, 'I actually like volleyball and that's what I want to do more than basketball.'"
Just as Marx got really involved in volleyball, the time arrived for the reconstructive surgery on her stomach, necessitated from when the cancerous tumor had been removed at an early age.
"They had to cut through all the muscle in my stomach," Marx said. "I lost 30 pounds from my surgery and had no muscle. I was skin and bones. I weighed 100 pounds going into it and when I got done with that I weighed 70 because I couldn't eat during it.
Despite it taking a tremendous toll physically, Marx was determined to make a fast recovery.
"That's when I was first starting to get into volleyball and all I wanted to do was get back into it," Marx said. "I got my surgery in the beginning of June and ended up coming back a little bit too early than I should have. I ended up coming back in August, which was immediately when I got cleared. I probably should have eased back into it a little bit."
She was back on the volleyball court, but it was a struggle.
"When I started playing again, I just didn't have much muscle," Marx said. "In volleyball, you use a lot of core muscle, especially, and I didn't have any of that. The pressure and attention you use when you're playing volleyball was going to my SI joint (sacroiliac joint connecting the spine to the pelvis) in my back.
"All the pressure was making it really rotate and I got injured with that. I was out the second half of that club season from March until June and went to PT (physical therapy) for that.
"It hasn't bothered me since then."
Getting serious with the sport
When Marx reached high school, she quit basketball to concentrate her efforts on volleyball.
"I was going to keep playing (basketball) in high school, but it overlapped too much and I knew I wanted to play volleyball more," Marx said.
The thought of playing volleyball in college was definitely on her radar as she looked to follow in the footsteps of her parents.
Her mother had played at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, as did her father before the program shut down. LJ Marx then finished his playing career at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and would later become the head men's volleyball coach at his alma mater for 15 seasons. He followed that by serving two years as an assistant women's volleyball coach at Marquette University.
"Once I got into high school, I knew I really wanted to play at the college level," Marx said. "I just wasn't sure what (division) level. As high school went on and I watched more college volleyball, I was like, 'Maybe I could play here or there.'
"Especially being an undersized setter, you never knew what a coach is looking for. Some coaches want an undersized setter, and some are looking for someone a little bit taller."
Troy comes calling
It was while Lauer and his staff were recruiting others on the Milwaukee Sting travel club team that Marx caught their attention.
"We have a really great relationship with the travel volleyball club that Madison came up through," Lauer said. "We actually started focusing on some other players, that were outside hitters, and middles - things like that.
"But every time we watched the team play, it was like, 'Man, Madison is just so fun, you know? She could be a setter, she could be a libero, she's a great server, she's the smartest player out there … they can't keep her off the court.'
"We just kept coming back to how she always made the team better with her skill. Her speed, knowledge and execution as a setter … even though she was undersized … we just felt like, 'That will play in the Sun Belt,' and there are ways for her to be really successful.
"We were excited about her as a person, as an athlete, to be part of what we were doing."
As Lauer learned more about what Marx had battled through from cancer, the more impressed he became.
"I knew then that this was a special person and family that they were willing to share that with us," Lauer said. "A lot of time recruits and their families keep a lot of that stuff almost hidden … they don't want it to influence a coach's decision about whether or not they should recruit that player. I really appreciated Madison and her parents being transparent and honest with it."
It hit home with Lauer in more ways than one.
"Our families have similar stories," Lauer said. "My wife and I had a very difficult situation with our first child, and so I very much could relate as a parent with LJ and Dawn, and how precious life is.
"I think that also helped Madison's parents understand that this could be a really good fit and place for her - that we were going to care for her as a person and not just as a player."
Making the decision
Marx learned a little bit about Troy from Olivia Kwiatkowski, who is a year older but played on the same travel club with her and signed with the Trojans.
Visiting Troy sealed the deal for Marx.
"I went into it wanting to observe - kind of seeing what's going on," Marx said. "So when I first got down here and went on my campus tour in Josh's car, it kind of felt like the right place.
"After every visit my mom and I wrote a pros and cons list, and it (Troy) just felt right. My parents said they knew before I committed where I was going to go."
Lauer didn't hesitate in offering Marx a scholarship.
"We're always looking for high-character, high-quality people that love to play volleyball," Lauer said. "Madison is extremely knowledgeable and passionate - she brings a lot of fun and joy to the team when she plays.
"She knows when to be competitive and serious, but she does a really good job of holding onto the joy that this game brings all of us."
Lauer is excited to see what Marx brings to the team this season and beyond.
"I think that her value as a teammate and leader is immeasurable," Lauer said. "It makes it really easy to enjoy coaching her. She's a big part of what's going on in the present and we're excited about her future as well."
For Marx, it's the continuation of a story much bigger than volleyball.
