One of the greatest compliments an athlete can receive is having your peers want to play just like you.

For Glacier senior right side hitter Grace Lingle, that’s a compliment she has received many times from her Wolfpack teammates. 

“When you are in a practice and you are watching Grace, the young girls, as soon as they see Grace hit, they want to be just like that,” Wolfpack coach Jaimie Nelson said. “All of Varsity and JV has little sisters back and forth. Grace’s little sister has definitely shared with me more than once, ‘I want to be able to do what she does.’ “ 

What does Grace bring to the court? A fearless, competitive mindset which she uses to spark her teammates, especially when trailing. And power, a lot of power. 

“When Grace hits, the entire gym knows,” Nelson said. 

Lingle started playing volleyball — a sport no one else in her family played — at the age of 7 and instantly fell in love. 

“I just joined a group when I was little and my friends kept me going in it,” Lingle said. “It was just fun to have a community of people to go and see every week and just debrief with them and talk about your life while playing something you love.” 

Some of that community took the court Tuesday for Stillwater Christian School, which faced off with the Wolfpack JV at Glacier while Lingle and her varsity teammates watched from the corner of the gym. 

Lingle attended Stillwater until her sophomore year of high school when she transferred to Glacier. 

“It was definitely very exciting and a good change and I believe it helped me to grow to who I am today, but it was very big going from a private to a public school,” Lingle said. 

Outside of school Lingle continues to live and breathe volleyball, playing for the club Apex Volleyball in Kalispell. She thanks her coach Mandi Hare for a little encouragement to move from the middle out to the right side. 

“I played middle for most of my life,” Lingle said. “It’s been a big change and difficult for me, but I have learned to overcome my adversities and go with the flow.” 

Lingle says one of the biggest differences of playing on the on the right is having to the pace. 

“When I first started off, middle was very fast paced for me and I enjoyed it because I could go and get the ball right away,” Lingle said. “Then I moved to right side and it is definitely slower, but I have learned to communicate with my setters and adapt to my preferences.” 

With her senior season winding down, Lingle is hopeful to continue playing volleyball at the collegiate level but says that is not going to influence her decision of where she goes to school next fall. She plans to study to be a dental hygienist. 

“There are only two dental hygienist programs in the state,” Lingle said. “I either have to go out of state or to a small school in state. I haven’t really narrowed it down.” 

Lingle and her Wolfpack teammates were preparing for Thursday’s first Crosstown matchup against Flathead. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Wolf Den.