For Kayla (Gesink) Bartman, volleyball has always been about more than what happens between in the matches. Long before she wore a Dordt uniform, Bartman was a young fan in Sioux Center, watching the Defenders play and dreaming about one day being part of the program herself.

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That dream became reality. Bartman graduated from Dordt in 2015 after four years with the Defender volleyball program, and the lessons and relationships she gained along the way continue to influence her as an educator, coach, wife and mother.

"Volleyball as a whole really shaped me for a long time in my life," Bartman said. "And being part of the program at Dordt, that made a big difference, too."

Some of her favorite memories came from competing at the highest level of the NAIA. Bartman experienced the national tournament as a junior, an experience she wishes she could have repeated each of her four seasons.

"I wish we could have made it all four because it was just incredible," she said. "I just remember the high level of volleyball that we were able to play with and compete against. It was just like a dream come true. I mean, it's what you picture and work for your whole life, being able to play at that level."

The national tournament experience went beyond the matches themselves. The team stayed in Sioux City for the week, giving Bartman and her teammates an opportunity to experience the tournament together.

Along with the national play, Bartman's memories include Dordt volleyball's tradition of taking team trips every three years. Bartman's freshman and senior seasons included trips to California, where the Defenders stayed together, played unfamiliar opponents and spent time away from the court.

Those trips became an important part of building the relationships that carried the teams through their seasons.

"You get so close and you have your friends that you knew kind of going into it," Bartman said. "But then you get to meet these other girls and spend so much quality time with them that you really get to build those relationships."

That trust mattered.

"It really carried us through that whole year," she said. "You had that trust level and you know them and those relationships. So it really kind of sets the standard for it."

Bartman's Dordt teammates included players such as Brooke Wolterstorff, Liz Kiel, Jenna Horstman and Siri Nelson, along with several older players she remembers fondly. The names have remained part of a larger collection of memories from a program that helped shape her.

But perhaps the most lasting influence came from what she learned about leadership. Bartman studied education at Dordt and eventually became a teacher and coached at Western Christian. The transition from being led by coaches to becoming a leader herself gave her an opportunity to put many of those lessons into practice.

She specifically remembers former Dordt coach Chad Hanson emphasizing service, faith and the importance of incorporating God into all aspects of life.

"When I took over in my classroom and building relationships with my students and serving them and leading them and setting expectations for them, being a member of that program and being led by Chad and other coaches, I had a lot that I learned from them that I was able to apply in my classroom and for my teams," Bartman said.

Her understanding of volleyball also changed. Dordt helped her see that while volleyball could be important, it didn't have to become everything.

"Going to Dordt, it showed me that volleyball is important, but it's not everything," she said. "You have other parts of your life that you can love volleyball and you can dedicate yourself to volleyball, but you can also love and dedicate yourself to other things."

That perspective has followed Bartman well beyond her playing days. She is now a mother of five daughters, which led her to step away from coaching for a time. Volleyball, however, has never completely left her life. She still plays recreationally when she can and participates in alumni games and occasional sand volleyball.

This fall, she is returning to coaching in a new role: fourth-grade volleyball.

"I'm excited to get back into coaching as my girls start to play themselves," she said.

Her connection to Dordt volleyball also remains strong.

Bartman's mother played volleyball at Dordt, making her own journey part of a family connection to the program. As a child growing up in Sioux Center, Bartman attended Dordt matches with her parents and watched the players she hoped to someday join.

"That was my dream school," she said. "I wanted to go play volleyball for Dordt."

Years later, she got to do exactly that.

"Just to be part of that and part of their journey, it's awesome," she said. "I remember as a kid, I grew up in Sioux Center and my parents took me to all those Dordt games. I remember the players that I watched growing up and that I got to go play. It was remarkable."

Her younger sister followed her to Dordt soon after Bartman's graduation, allowing her to remain connected to the program as a fan. Her coaching experience at Western has also given her another connection to many of the players she now watches.

The result is a relationship with Dordt volleyball that spans generations and multiple perspectives — fan, player, coach and family member.

That connection has become even more meaningful as Dordt celebrates 50 years of women's volleyball.

"Volleyball is just really, it shaped me," Bartman said. "I think God used that in my life. I think I played for like 15 years to help shape the person I am."

For Bartman, the appeal of volleyball itself is easy to understand. She is drawn to the competition and the opportunity to continually start fresh.

"I'm such a competitor," she said. "What I love about volleyball is that it's just a short burst of everything."

A rally might last only a matter of seconds, but players have to give everything they have during that time before regrouping for the next point.

"And volleyball is awesome that you played a 25 and maybe we played terrible and we lost. Well, you know, all we got to do is start over again. We get a fresh chance," Bartman said. "So I think just as a competitor you can just compete and compete and
compete the whole game. And I just love that."

But perhaps that ability to start over is part of what Bartman has carried with her from volleyball long after her playing days ended.

Dordt gave her teammates, memories and opportunities to compete at the highest level. It also gave her lessons about leadership, service, faith and relationships that have followed her into the classroom, the coaching world and her family.

"You know, now as I go and I am dedicated to other things, you can see how that kind of trickles through," Bartman said. "You can love volleyball and you can dedicate yourself to volleyball, but you can also love and dedicate yourself to serving others."