Ciara Parizek/MDN Glenburn High middle hitter and blocker McKenna Rolland, front, waits for a serve in the game against Berthold on Tuesday evening.

In some families, siblings may play different sports. However, that is not the case for Glenburn High School senior McKenna Rolland when it comes to volleyball.

Rolland first fell in love with volleyball when she practiced with her two older sisters, Halle Serhienko and Payton Schumann. They both played varsity volleyball, and Rolland is close behind. She started as soon as she could in sixth grade.

When she showed interest in the sport, she asked her sisters a lot of questions and “got hooked right away.” Instead of letting Serhienko and Schumann do their homework, Rolland “annoyed them” and wanted them to go out and practice with her in their backyard. They had set out string to mark the boundaries of their homemade court and put up their own net.

She started varsity when she was a freshman, staying there all the way through her senior year, now playing as a middle blocker and middle hitter. She also participates in recreational leagues during the summer, playing as an outside blocker and outside hitter.

“I do love playing outside (hitter) a lot more,” she said, “but I do like middle because of the intensity of blocking. You get a lot of touches on blocks and it just feels good to get a block that just goes straight down on the other side of the court.”

Playing for Glenburn during the school year and on a recreational league in the summer gives her a chance to play, also preventing her from getting rusty.

One of her favorite things about playing sports, volleyball especially, is having that team connection and having each other’s backs during a game.

“I love after I get a kill, or someone gets a kill, and the gym is just electric,” Rolland said with a smile. “It’s awesome. I just love the intensity of all of it.”

In addition to her teammates pushing her to be the best she can be, she gets a lot of support from her parents, sisters and longtime friend Nadia Post.

“They’ve all helped me a lot with where I am right now,” Rolland said. “They’ve helped me improve. They know my weaknesses and they know we need to get better, so they would push me to get better.”

Not only does she play varsity volleyball, but she’s also on the varsity basketball team at GHS. Track and field and softball are two of her other sports she’s passionate about at school. In her free time, she can be found on the golf course.

Rolland said they won All District in both volleyball and basketball during her sophomore year, All Region her senior year, and All Region in basketball her sophomore and junior years.

After she graduates this upcoming May, she is planning on going to college to be a nurse and move on to be an anesthesiologist. Continuing her volleyball career is something she is most definitely looking into, as well as the colleges in North Dakota that have great nursing programs. So far, she has Bismarck State College, North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton and Williston State College in mind.

Even though she loves volleyball most, she said she would take a scholarship for basketball if she received an offer.

Rolland has plans for the future, but also remembers to live in the moment. Her close relationship with her teammates and the intensity of a volleyball game are her favorite parts of being in sports. Playing on the varsity team pushes her to do and be better not only in sports, but also in school.