Some young girls grow up dreaming of becoming a teacher, or a doctor, or a famous politician.

Not Riley McArdle.

When McArdle was young, there was just one thing she obsessed about being when she grew up - a Panther Valley High School volleyball player.

“I remember thinking when I was young how great it would be to play volleyball for Panther Valley,” said McArdle. “When I was in elementary school, my dad would take me to Panther Valley matches and the teams were really good, and the student section was really into the matches, and I would think to myself, ‘I want to be part of this someday.’”

Fast forward several years and McArdle has fulfilled that dream.

Now a high school junior, McArdle hasn’t just been a member of the Panther Valley volleyball team.

She’s been much more.

A three-year starter and two-time captain, McArdle could conceivably finish her high school career as the school’s all-time leader in digs, while also finishing in the top three in both career kills and aces. The young girl who dreamed of playing volleyball for Panther Valley has become one of the all-time best players in school history.

McArdle’s success on the court hasn’t surprised Panther Valley coach Emilie Baker.

“I coached Riley before she even got to high school when she played on the 209 Fusion club team,” Baker said. “I could see then that Riley had all the ingredients you look for as coach.

“She was driven, she was passionate, she was dedicated, and she was extremely coachable. She was never satisfied and was always looking to improve, always studying the game and learning. When you combine those qualities with her talent and skill level, you can see why she has become such an outstanding player.”

This past season was McArdle’s best so far. She led the Panthers with 279 digs, 252 kills, and 53 aces. Her ability to alter matches at the net, in the backline or from the service line highlighted her greatest strength according to her coach - her versatility.

“Riley does a lot of amazing things on the court,” Baker said. “Hitting, passing, serving ... she can impact a game is so many ways.

“Not many volleyball players are as versatile as Riley.”

McArdle’s stellar play this season helped the Panthers to an 18-4 record, a Schuylkill League playoff semifinal berth, and a District 11 Class 2A championship game appearance. It also helped her win the 2022 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Volleyball Player of the Year award.

McArdle said as thrilled as she is to receive the award, individual honors aren’t something she thinks about. Instead, she focuses on enjoying the game, improving every time she steps on the court, and doing whatever it takes to help her team win.

Those three things have been part of her volleyball mindset from the time she was introduced to the sport.

“I started playing volleyball when I was in third grade,” McArdle said. “By fourth grade I was already on travel teams and playing with girls a couple of grades older than me.

“I remember going to tournaments and spending eight to 10 to 12 hours between traveling and playing games, and then getting home after the tournament, and asking my dad to go out and hit balls in the backyard ... sometimes in the dark, even a couple of times in the snow. I just couldn’t get enough of the sport even at that age.”

That passion for the sport hasn’t changed over the years - it has only intensified.

So despite all she has accomplished the past three years, McArdle isn’t satisfied - and like that 9-year-old attending her first volleyball match nearly a decade ago, she is still thinking and dreaming about the future.

And while it’s still too early to know whether being a teacher, or a doctor, or the President of the United States might be part of her distant future, her goals for the immediate future are much more concrete.

“I want to be part of a district championship volleyball team at Panther Valley,” McArdle said. “I look at the championship banners in our gym all the time. I have my name on one from 2019 when I was an eighth-grade manager for the team. But I want to be part of one as a player - and I know that’s the goal of everyone on our team.

“I only have one more chance to accomplish that. So I’m going to do everything in my power to bring another championship to our school.” McArdle has already displayed the dedication and commitment it takes to make dreams come true. There is no reason to think she can’t do it again.

So don’t be surprised if there is a championship volleyball banner in the Panther Valley gymnasium some day with Riley McArdle’s name on it. Not as a manager, but as a captain.