With the volleyball district tournament starting this week, a lot of local teams had some preparing to do, including the Glenburn Panthers. During the normal volleyball season, they held a record of 9-7. Glenburn’s head volleyball coach Katie Dufner had nothing but positive things to say about her team.

The first thing she said was that she expects to see a lot of good volleyball during districts.

“We are going in as the fourth seed and that’s a pretty good spot to be,” she explained.

Dufner described a lot of her players as being “top players.” She looks to her seniors and one of her juniors for leadership and consistency on the court.

McKenna Rolland, Nadia Post, Lila Farden, Hannah Hagen and Lorelei McIver have set themselves apart from the others by showing confidence and their leadership skills that have taken the Panthers to where they are today.

However, it hasn’t just been those select players that have shown they are dynamic players.

“This year, there has been so much improvement and growth from the entire team,” she said. “We have a fairly young team, so it is really cool seeing how much work these girls are putting in and watching that hard work pay off.

Looking ahead to next year, Dufner expects that a lot of changes are going to be happening. Of course, this year’s seniors will be graduating in the spring, so the rest of the team will be stepping up to fill their shoes. That also leaves a door open for the possibility of the girls exceeding their coach’s expectations.

The seniors have played a major role in building Glenburn’s volleyball program, but there a lot of good athletes moving up and Dufner knows that they’ll do a great job at building onto the program, as well.

Being the head coach for the Panthers is rewarding far beyond the sport itself.

“I would say the most rewarding part of my job is getting to watch these athletes grow into confident young women who work hard to get to where they want to go. The great thing about sports is that it’s so much more than playing the game. Athletics help people in every aspect of their lives.”

Working and growing together as a team is important, not only to improve gameplay but also to build friendships and bonds that can last a lifetime. The Glenburn Panthers volleyball team growing as women and together as a team is rewarding to Dufner, and they’re looking forward to districts.