Isabel Perez, who’s ‘improved so much,’ hits all of her shots as Aurora Central Catholic tops Aurora Christian

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Junior outside hitter Isabel Perez plays all the right angles for Aurora Central Catholic.

And the key for Perez? Seeing the court as a collection of possibilities.

“I’m an aggressive player,” she said. “I like to look at what is open and hit different shots. Seeing the way my teammates cheer after every point makes me want to play for them even more.”

Perez found the open spots on the court Thursday night, producing six kills, three aces and a block in a 25-15, 25-18 nonconference victory over Aurora Christian.

Complementing Perez, sophomore outside hitter Natalie Brinka notched seven kills and senior middle hitter Abby Gambro came up with four for ACC (21-13).

Chloe Meyer paced Aurora Christian (14-17) with four kills. Braelyn Hill added three.

The versatility of Perez, meanwhile, is a crucial reason for the Chargers’ success this fall, according to junior setter Mia Kenyon.

“She’s always someone I can go to and it’s always easy to have her as an option on the court,” Kenyon said of Perez. “It’s obviously a very serious game, but she’s so much fun to be around.

“She’s outgoing, funny and always making sure we’re laughing.”

ACC coach Becky Ramey pointed out that Perez impacts the game from everywhere on the court.

“She’s amazing at hitting the ball everywhere,” Ramey said of Perez. “She’s really consistent. She takes smart and aggressive shots and always goes for the win.”

Her specialty is the let serve, expertly utilizing spin to clip the top of the net and have the ball fall over for an ace. She did that twice against the Eagles.

“With my old club, we used to have a string above the net and you got two points on the scoreboard,” Perez said. “It’s a great piece because the shot is so hard to read.”

The 5-foot-7 Perez relies on her superb leaping ability and athleticism to command the net. She parlayed her background in gymnastics and track for an electric effect in volleyball.

Ramey, who’s in her second year as ACC’s coach, feels Perez has grown more confident in every aspect of her game. And Perez agreed.

“I’ve improved so much as a player,” Perez said. “I was pretty shy with our coach last year. I love to show my personality on the court because everybody is so expressive.”

Perez, whose three older brothers all played soccer for ACC, started playing volleyball seven years ago. The sport felt like a natural extension of her outgoing personality.

“My dad signed me up and I just immediately fell in love with the game,” she said. “My older cousin just committed to Eastern Illinois. I used to go watch her a lot, and that inspired me.”

The support and structure provided by her family only deepened her ambition and illustrated her potential.

“My dad encouraged me and took me to private lessons and paid for extra training and it showed that he really believed in me,” Perez said.

“I saw that I had a future.”

The Chargers also beat Aurora Christian 25-22, 19-25, 25-13 in the opening week this fall. In the regular-season finale, the rematch offered a litmus test for Perez and Co.

“We’ve grown so much,” Perez said. “It was kind of rough at the start, but we worked a lot on our communication and we’ve done a lot of team bonding.”

The third-seeded Chargers begin postseason action Tuesday against sixth-seeded Beecher in a Class 2A Chicago Christian Regional semifinal.

Perez is ready to take that test.

“Watching my coaches’ expressions or my teammates, seeing my parents cheering me on, it feels like slow motion how we celebrate,” she said. “You get all the emotions poured on you.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.