Some dreams seem out of reach, especially when they are the dreams of a junior and student athlete. College seems to be coming at a rapid speed, and for junior Grace Regnier the only one thing can slow it down and calm the nerves: a sport she has been playing for six years competitively, volleyball.

Regnier has the bar set high for her athletic career; coming from a competitive family, the pressure is on to be the best possible athlete she can be. Regnier doesn’t train in order to be the best on the court, Regnier knows the only person she should try to better than is herself.

“She has an athletic family and her older sister Lily played last year and is an amazing athlete,” coach Greg Bruns said. “Her parents are both athletic and supporting and Grace loves playing.”

For the past six years of her life, volleyball has been one of her biggest priorities. Not once has Regnier seen it as a job or as something she needs to do; she cherishes every second spent with her teammates on and off the court.

“She is a great young lady who respects both her teammates as well as her opponents, and just loves to be on the court,” Bruns said.

With such high expectations from coaches and peers, she has even higher goals set for herself. Everyone who knows her, from classmates to teammates, knows she won’t stop until she achieves every one of them. From private lessons to just a friendly game of beach volleyball, Regnier takes every moment on the court as an opportunity to get better.

“She pushes herself very hard at club practices to make herself stronger and better,” teammate junior Maiah Moll said.

Not only does she push herself on the court, but off the court as well. Being a student athlete comes with its own struggles, but being an athlete who doesn’t have an off season comes with a different set of challenges, yet Regnier chooses not focus on the bad. When tough losses happen or she doesn’t play her best game, volleyball is still the one constant that has never failed to bring her joy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had doubts about volleyball,” Regnier said. “I love the sport and if something goes wrong I think that there is always a way to find a solution.”

Through the stressful thoughts of college and everyday hardships in life, volleyball has always been her go to for advice. Whether she is struggling in school or with friendships, volleyball is her way out of her head.

“Volleyball is important to me because it’s how I can escape from whatever else is going on in my life,” Regnier said. “It has led me to meet lots of new people and taught me to have priorities on what’s important.”

Regnier’s quiet demeanor in the classroom does not reflect the way she plays on the court.

“She [is a] hard worker in the classroom and on the court,” Bruns said. “[Grace] plays with confidence. She knows the game, she can see weaknesses in her opponents and help her teammates take advantage of them.”

Last summer volleyball was going extremely well for Regnier, but with playing a fast paced sport comes injuries. The summer before her sophomore year, she tore two ligaments in her ankle. This caused her to be out the entire season of her sophomore year. With the injury came the hard times. In the months of healing, Regnier thought about how her heart beats for volleyball; with every waking day she wanted to be back out on the court playing like it was the last time. In these moments, she knew how hard she was going to need to work to get back on the court.

“During my injury, I kept thinking about if it’s going to happen again, how long I will be out for and if it was going to be hard to recover from,” Regnier said. “It definitely made me realize how much I love playing volleyball because I always wanted to be playing with my team and my teammates.”

This season, Regnier is ready to be back on the court. She plans to bring her hardwork and dedication with her. With support from teammates and coaches, everyone is ready for the season to begin.

“It is always fun to play with her and we don’t get to do it all the time,” Moll said. “We are looking forward to making high school memories together and just advancing in our athletic career together.”

Regnier is looking forward to her junior season as it will begin to open up college recruitment opportunities. She wants to play Division 1 collegiate volleyball and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get there.