SANDPOINT — It was a tough senior season for Sandpoint volleyball player Hailey Dunn, who had to watch her teammates from the sideline with a torn knee ligament.

But good news arrived this week, when the 6-foot-1 outside hitter/setter announced that she will walk on next season and play for Gonzaga University.

Dunn, who played setter in high school but was told by the Zags coaches that she’ll be a right side hitter in college, said the Spokane school took an interest in her despite the injury, which she sustained in club ball and needed 10 months to recover from. She recently practiced with the Zags players, and was impressed by how they welcomed and encouraged her, realizing she could hold her own.

“It means a lot considering I thought I wouldn’t play (in college) because of my injury,” said Dunn, who plans to study business marketing in college. “It’s a Division I school that will help me grow. I love the team aspect of volleyball, the connection you have with the players.”

Dunn was a force at the net as a junior at Sandpoint, a tall setter who was able to not just deliver deft passes, but also score points on quick tip kills. Her coach that season, Karen Alsager, said she possesses the skills and intangibles that any coach covets.

“She’s 100 percent in, completely focused before, during and after a match,” described Alsager. “She lives, breathes, eats, sleeps and drinks it; those are fun athletes.”

Jack Dyck, who coached Dunn for a couple of years at the club level, believes being a strong blocker and bringing rare left-handed swings are two traits that will serve her well at the college level.

Art Lambert, a former head volleyball coach at Stanford and Notre Dame and one of the premier setting coaches in the region, has worked with Dunn and thinks her potential is extremely high.

“You don’t find many 6-1, left-handed girls with hands like her,” described Lambert. “A setter that can move and has good feet, are you kidding me?”