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After this year's volleyball season ended, Kim Dahl decided to attend Pleasant Grove's basketball team tryouts. The 6-foot senior hadn't played in two years, but she wanted to see if she still had any passion for basketball left.

After one day of practice, the answer was clear to Dahl: Nope.

"I just wanted to make sure that basketball is not my thing," Dahl says. "Volleyball is my passion. It makes me so much more excited, and it's just fun for me all the time."

Volleyball is more like an addiction for Dahl: The outside hitter soaks up the game like few high school players can, watching hours of film and game footage and responding even to the most subtle coaching suggestions. Her athleticism gave her potential, but her voracious appetite for improvement allowed her to fulfill expectations and lead the Vikings back into the 5A championship game.

It is this restless desire to make herself and her team better that makes Dahl The Tribune's 5A most valuable player.

"She's one of the top players in the state in terms of talent, but she really knows the game," coach Jamie Schapper says. "She leads by example and the way she supports her team. She's one of the most coachable players I've ever had."

As Pleasant Grove fell to third place in Region 4 a year after going undefeated in region play and winning it all, Dahl tried to keep the bar high. Headed into a tournament semifinal against a favored Bingham team, she helped set the tone for the Vikings.

"I think the team looked up to me because we lost so many good players," Dahl says. "We just practiced really hard, and I think going into the game, we all thought we could beat them."

What transpired was what both Dahl and Schapper call the team's most complete performance. Pleasant Grove was able to shut down the Miners in a tight five-set battle. Dahl had 21 kills and five aces.

"She always knew what we were good enough to accomplish," Schapper says.

"I think we all saw in her face during that game that she knew it was going in our favor."

In the championship game against Lone Peak, the match did not go in Pleasant Grove's favor. The Knights beat the Vikings in four sets, claiming revenge for the 2009 title game.

Dahl will go on to play volleyball at BYU. Her goals are still lofty as ever: She's aiming for a national championship and making the Olympics.

"She definitely has the potential," Schapper says. "College is a different world, but if she keeps working the way she does, she can accomplish just about anything, I think." See the All-State Volleyball teams here: http://bit.ly/gj8TmG