PENANG, April 16 — Beach volleyball is not everyone’s cup of tea, especially for Malaysians who tend to avoid play that invites exposure to our sultry weather conditions.

However, pint sized Dawn Lynn always had an occupation in mind before deciding to pursue a career in volleyball and that was to be a pilot.

Born on October 24, 1992, Dawn has been commuting to and from New Zealand and developed a love for volleyball along the way.

"Flying was what I wanted to do growing up and then volleyball came along,” said Dawn, who acquired her Level 1 Private Pilot Licence (PPL) in New Zealand.

She needed to clock 48 flight hours and complete it within eight months.

"I was 14 when I fell in love with beach volleyball and it was a struggle to find someone to play with in Penang,” said Dawn.

"Not many want to play in the hot sun.

"I decided to go to Rarotonga in Cook Islands for the Asian Volleyball Championships (AVC) in 2015, after many years playing and learning on my own as a technical official and player.

"I played in some smaller tournaments and met many interesting people that only further cemented my love for the game,” added Dawn, who goes to the AVC every year.

As she places a hypothetical career in flying on the shelf, Dawn is trying very hard to be a world class beach volleyball player.

She has a job at Gym Nation in Penang as a personal instructor and is doing an online course in sports with the New Zealand Institute of Sports (NZIS).

Dawn and her partner, Sook Ting Yew, got an unlucky draw, facing top seeded Austrian twins, Nadine and Teresa Strauss, in the first round.

They lost 21-9, 21-11 but anyone who saw that match could see the potential and passion Dawn has for the sport as she was trying everything to stay alive in the match.