THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 29, 1996 TAG: 9610290439
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 42 lines
Leadership comes in many forms.
Katherine Dunford knows them all.
On the volleyball court, the Cox senior leads by playing her role to perfection. A pretty good defender and hitter, her job is to call the plays and set.
``The team all knows what their role is and they play within that role,'' she said. ``The players who don't start know their role and they know it's important.''
Last week Dunford was a role model, registering 24 assists against Kempsville to propel the Falcons to the regular season Beach District championship - and the first unbeaten season for a district girls volleyball team.
Dunford also threw in 13 digs and six blocks for good measure.
As the floor coach, she calls all the plays. While she prefers to lead by example, she's learning to lead vocally as well.
``She's been our leader since her freshman year,'' coach Claire LeBlanc said. ``But lately, she's been doing it vocally as well. She's overcome being bashful to do that.''
And when the team isn't in the gym, Dunford has taken it upon her leadership self to be the organizer of functions designed to build team unity - things like team dinners and get-togethers.
``I am the leader, on and off the court,'' she said matter-of-factly. ``On the court, I'm in charge of calling the plays and setting. Both on and off the court are significant roles.''
Dunford has all the qualities for the job - quickness, great decision-making ability, solid fundamental skills.
And she has put in the time at summer camps and with an AAU tournament team to make sure she does her job the best she can.
``And things are obviously going great,'' Dunford said. ``We're undefeated and thinking about going all the way.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Katherine Dunford] by CNB