Jenna Dubosky’s record-setting volleyball career ended with a tearful embrace.

Just seconds after Panther Valley was eliminated from the PIAA Class 2A state playoffs by North Penn-Liberty, Jenna and her younger sister Erika shared a hug before walking off the court.

Symbolically, the embrace could be viewed as a passing of the torch for the Panther Valley program.

But in reality, that falls far short of accurately describing the upcoming transition period for the Panthers.

That’s because the glow that Dubosky brought to Panther Valley volleyball during the last four years was less torch and more nuclear power.

Dubosky helped turn a good program into an elite one. She helped turn a winning program into a championship one. She has been the face of the Panther program for most of her career and led it to unprecedented success.

There were four Schuylkill League playoff appearances, four District 11 titles, and four PIAA State Tournaments berths.

The team success has been intertwined with incredible individual achievements that saw Dubosky garner multiple all-league, all-district, and all-state honors. There were MVP awards and Player of the Year awards. There were single season and career records.

And in a career that seemed to play out like a game of “can you top this?” Dubosky saved her best for last.

This past campaign she had single-season highs with 373 kills and 423 assists, while also adding 79 aces and 92 digs.

For taking an already stratospheric career to new heights this season, Dubosky was named the 2019 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Volleyball Player of the Year — the second straight year she has won the award.

“It was a great senior season,” Dubosky said. “I knew it was my last chance to play with a lot of girls that I’ve had the chance to share the court with since we played youth volleyball together, and I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it and appreciated it as much as possible.

“Obviously, I would have loved to win a state championship and we weren’t able to do that. But so many great things happened. We had another incredible season, we won another district championship, I was able to set a couple of career records that were goals of mine ... all-in-all it was a really special season.”

It was also a season of change for Dubosky and her teammates, as longtime Panther Valley coach Nancy Filer stepped down following last season and Emilie Baker took over as coach.

Baker, who has been involved in volleyball as either a player or a coach since she was young, said she realized right away that Dubosky was a special talent.

“I’ve been around the game most of my life, and Jenna definitely has a unique skill set and work ethic,” said Baker. “You don’t see very many players who have the versatility to hold their school record in both kills and assists, but that’s what Jenna has done at Panther Valley.

“During the summer, we played around with different lineup ideas to try to maximize Jenna’s strengths. We thought about not using her at setter when she rotates off the front line because she is also an extremely talented defender. We thought about playing a 5-1 (formation) and just using her as a setter. But ultimately, she was so good at both attacking and setting, that we stayed with a 6-2 (formation) and allowed her to keep doing both.”

As Dubosky’s 2019 numbers indicate, it was a wise decision.

It allowed Dubosky to leave Panther Valley as the career leader in kills (948) and assists (1,157).

“I take a lot of pride in my versatility,” Dubosky said. “I try to be the type of player that can do anything on the court and fill any role that is needed.”

Baker said it’s no secret why Dubosky has been able to do that.

“Jenna is such a driven player,” Baker said. “She plays year round and is an extremely hard worker. She was also a great team leader, and an outstanding role model to the younger players on the team.

“She knew how to be a team leader. She said the right things and did the right things. I think when other players on a team see how hard the best player works, it has a trickle-down effect on the entire program.”

Dubosky’s passion for the sport isn’t finished with her high school days coming to a close.

“I pretty much play volleyball 12 months a year,” said Dubosky. “I love the sport, and I’m looking forward to playing in college.”

Dubosky said NCAA Division 2 programs Bloomsburg and Kutztown are currently the front-runners as she narrows down her college choices.

One thing that’s certain as Dubosky leaves the Panther Valley program is that replacing her will be more complex than passing a torch.

It will be more like rebuilding a nuclear power plant.