[1] She attended Bertrand High School, where she excelled athletically, earning all-state honors for both basketball and volleyball, while winning the Nebraska 100-meter low hurdles event in both 1981 and 1982.

[2] Dahlgren started her collegiate volleyball career at Nebraska in 1983, playing for Terry Pettit.

She noticed a particular formation run by the team from Korea, called the slide attack, which she brought back to the US.

[1][5] Her play earned her a spot of the all-conference team all four years of her collegiate career.

She was the first player chosen in their initial draft in 1986.She played for both the Minnesota Monarchs and the New York Liberties.