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OMAHA — For years, parents have told their children to follow their dreams, but those dreams can come with added pressures and expectations when they follow the footsteps of an entire family’s sport legacy. For Kate Dyrstad, the volleyball pathway has been paved and waiting for her to make her own mark on it for quite some time.
Dyrstad is currently a sophomore at Papillion La Vista South High School, where she serves as a swing player for both the varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams. She is the youngest of four sisters to go through the Titan volleyball program in the past five years and has some big shoes to fill. The two oldest sisters, Kenzie and Kyla, play college volleyball at Rutgers and Morningside. Kami, the third sister, is currently a senior at Papillion La Vista South and is committed to play at Rutgers next fall.
Kate is the last sister waiting to see how volleyball will impact her life beyond high school, but has plenty of time to continue to make strides on the high school courts first. With strong family ties to the sport, it was only a matter of time before Kate was also introduced to volleyball as a child.
“I started playing volleyball when I was 5,” Dyrstad said. “My grandpa started Premier, and then all my sisters played, and my mom played.”
Premier Nebraska Volleyball is a youth volleyball club founded in 1997. According to the Premier website, it is a registered junior program affiliate of USA Volleyball. Some of its goals include teaching fundamentals, improving techniques and developing physical and mental strength in athletes. Kate and her siblings grew up playing club at Premier, and their mom is currently on staff as well.
As a freshman, Kate made the junior varsity team and got the opportunity to go to the state tournament with varsity. There, she got to cheer on and watch her older sister, Kami, play in the postseason, all the way through the team’s state championship win. This year, the biggest change for Kate is getting to share the high school court with that same sister.
“I think it’s really fun sharing the court with her,” Dyrstad said. “She trusts me. If I’m playing middle back and she’s playing left back, she knows that I’ll be there.”
Playing a sport with a sibling comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Both Kate and Kami agreed that there is a strong sense of trust between them on the court, which makes them stronger against opponents. These siblings are no different than any other, fighting with each other when they were younger and annoying each other as siblings do, but playing the same sport has brought them together in more ways than one.
“We’re close, but we expect a lot out of each other, whether it’s at home or at volleyball,” said Kami Dyrstad. “I expect a lot out of her, and I’m gonna be hard on her because I know she can do better or do more, and she’ll do the same for me.”
Kami also said that watching her sister follow the volleyball path has been cool because of the ability to watch Kate grow in a sport that she also loves. Not only does Kate have her sisters to look up to, but she also has a winning volleyball program to learn from.
Papillion La Vista South has won four state championships in the last six years and is always working to continue that success.
The head volleyball coach at Papillion La Vista South, Katie Tarman, has been a part of the program since 2017. After starting as an assistant coach, Tarman took over the program in 2019. She vividly recalled meeting the Dyrstad family when they visited the school to learn more about the Titan volleyball program years ago.
“Mom and Dad came into the building with Kenzie and Kyla, and we sat in the classroom and talked about our program,” Tarman said. “They shared their experiences and what they were hoping for their daughters.”
Something that set Kate apart from her sisters was her involvement in other sports outside of volleyball. She considered joining the track team during high school and played tee ball when she was younger, but the biggest influence outside of volleyball came from her days playing basketball. Kate played basketball up until eighth grade and was the only sister to have tried out the sport over the years, but the skills she learned impacted her volleyball career as well.
Kami recalled how happy she was when her sister finally decided to pursue volleyball and not basketball, but she wasn’t the only one excited about her continuation with volleyball. Tarman talked about the advantages of having a basketball background when it came to playing volleyball.
“I honestly thought she was going to play basketball longer than she did, but I think she just bought into the volleyball bug that a lot of these girls do,” Tarman said. “So that makes her a little different, because I think she just has a different mindset than even all three of the other older girls, and she’s kind of becoming her own person.”
These advantages have helped Kate to make her own mark in the volleyball world. Expectations from following her sisters’ path are inevitable, and it is one of the hardest parts about coming from an athletic family with a shared sport. Kate said there was pressure that came with continuing the legacy and the comparison that coaches might have between her and her sister. Sharing that “volleyball bug” also came with advantages, though. Kate went on to share how growing up with all of her siblings playing volleyball motivated her to improve every day.
“I feel like I want to get better every day, like going to practices and everything. So, I think it’s really fun, looking forward to practices,” Kate said.
Her passion for volleyball is as strong as ever, as she hopes to continue playing at the highest level she can, but she still has plenty to do on the high school court before then. With goals of her own and family support, Kate hopes to improve herself through the season and in the years to come.
