By: Greg Tartaglia – Record Sports Staff

Madylin Marino spoke frankly and without hesitation.

“Coach doesn’t play girls [according to] grade, she plays by ability and respect,” the Wood-Ridge outside hitter said.

Marino had been asked about finding herself in a leadership role as a sophomore on one of the top girls volleyball teams in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference.

Her response came as the Blue Devils’ coach – who also happens to be her mother, Andrea – was standing nearby.

The younger Marino uses her titles according to the situation. It’s “Coach” when in uniform, and “Mom” outside of the gym.

“I started doing that on my own,” said Madylin, 15, adding as she turned to Andrea, “I assumed that’s what you wanted?”

The elder Marino nodded and chuckled.

“Sometimes, she’ll say, ‘This is a mom question, not a coach question’,” Andrea added, “like if the girls are going for ice cream or whatever after practice.”

Besides the unseasonably warm weather, the 12-4 Blue Devils have had plenty of reasons to spring for frozen treats. They are 11-0 in the NJIC Meadowlands and aiming for a second straight division title.

Wood-Ridge enters Thursday’s match at Becton on a seven-match win streak. Just prior to that, the team dropped back-to-back games against Rutherford and Secaucus, in which Madylin Marino was slowed by tendinitis in her left foot.

“She would keep it in a [walking] boot all day, and then play in the games,” Andrea Marino said. “She didn’t want to not play.”

That became evident during the first three matches of the win streak. In victories against division rivals Hasbrouck Heights, Immaculate Conception and Weehawken, the younger Marino posted three straight double-doubles, reaching double digits in kills and digs each match.

For the season, the 5-foot-7 hitter has 152 kills and 85 digs.

“IC and Heights are the big competitors for us,” Madylin said.

All three Meadowlands contenders will take part in the second annual NJIC Tournament, which was seeded earlier this week. Wood-Ridge is the No. 1 seed and is scheduled to host No. 16 Eastern Christian this weekend, with the winner to face the No. 8 Lyndhurst/No. 9 Immaculate Conception winner.

The Blue Devils long have been regulars in the Bergen County tournament, which runs at the same time and traditionally is dominated by Big North schools.

“Anybody can beat anybody on a given day,” Andrea Marino said. “I just think it’s better for the overall vibe for our small school to be able to play a few more games. To say we entered the county tournament and lost [in the first round], there’s no status in that… now, we could maybe win something.”

That is especially enticing for the Blue Devils’ six seniors, including Casey Schulz (53 kills). The OH co-captains the team with junior setter Ashley Gareffa (218 assists).

“It’s going to be sad when the seniors graduate this year,” Madylin Marino said, “so we’re excited to get more opportunities to have game time with them.”

And with Mom – or, in that case, Coach.