Volleyball; a constant in the storm

Five-foot 10-inch Becca Perry has played volleyball since seventh grade, and without it she wouldn’t be who she is today.

An outside hitter on the Saints, she was born in San Diego. In grade school her parents divorced, but she doesn’t remember much of it. Some years later, she moved to Illinois with her dad.

In seventh grade she found her passion: volleyball. The game took over her life, as she played year-round. Spring became time to practice, fall became her high school season, and then came club season.  In that, volleyball has become so much more than just a game for her; it became a lifestyle. And it’s been one of her only consistents in life.

After her freshman year in high school she moved to Idaho, near Boise, where her mom lived. It wasn’t easy to make the move, but she felt it was for the best. She said, “My dad and I didn’t get along, because I still felt like he kinda took me away.”

It was a rough switch at first, but help came quickly. “As soon as I got there I went to open gyms, like right off of the bat… That’s really how I met everyone. And once you’re a part of a group, they really become your family and that has been super helpful,” Perry said.

In her senior year she decided to move back to Illinois with her dad and step-mom, however. She had decided the two years with her mother “probably wasn’t the best thing for me, so I went back to my dad’s. And it was the best thing; I had the best senior year ever,” she said.

Sidelined by injury

That was, until a screeching stop in her team’s regional playoff game. She landed on her right knee hard, which caused a bone contusion.  It didn’t just end that run, but also caused her to miss the club team season. She didn’t play for eight months.

Things got even worse, when Perry’s mom got really sick.  She had plans to attend Illinois State but chose not to, for a multitude of reasons. Suddenly her mom began losing control of all her muscles. Something was wrong with her brain; the doctors still don’t know what happened.

Perry moved back to Idaho to support her.  “It was really weird. It was tough. And she was going through a divorce at the time so life was kinda kicking her while she was down,” she said.

Thankfully, her mom is much improved now and due to leave the hospital, she said.

Perry was back in Idaho only for a couple weeks, before landing at Mt. Hood, of all places. She had nearly been set to attend Illinois State, but didn’t feel ready for college. Further, she had no intent to play volleyball. “It was time to grow up,” she said. The injury also weighed on her. “I kinda used it as an excuse; I was run down from it, because it’s a lot, it really is (playing volleyball). You don’t get to experience what most high school kids do, because you’re always busy doing the same thing every night.”

But then she saw team pictures and her friends still playing, and the passion burned again.

One more move

Perry had previously been recruited by Mt. Hood in Idaho her sophomore year while playing on a club team with Lexie Walthall, who played libero for MHCC in 2015. The Saints had their eyes on Walthall but liked what they saw from Perry. They reached out and she contacted Kim Hyatt, Mt. Hood’s athletic director. So, when Perry’s excitement to play rekindled, she contacted Hyatt again.

Mt. Hood had already begun practice and preseason was near, so Perry had no hopes of playing in 2016. To her surprise, though, the Saints needed an outside hitter due to a player leaving, and Hyatt told her to come join the team immediately. Next thing she knew, she was packing her bags for Oregon.

Perry said her mom wanted her to seize the opportunity.

“She would have been mad at me, she knows this is what I’ve worked for my entire life… Because this is what every little girl volleyball player wants: to play at a college level,” she said.

Perry is thrilled she made the move. Once again, she was embraced by new teammates. “(I) didn’t know anyone except one person (Walthall). Now I would do anything for these girls… they mean a lot to me,” she said.

“Moving here… has allowed me to become someone that I really like. I have truly found myself,” she continued. “The people I’ve surrounded myself with have opened my eyes to who I want to be. (They) are so loving and genuine that it’s rubbed off onto me.

“I would not be who I am without them.”

Sophomore outside hitter Jazmayne Williams, Saints team leader in kills, called Perry a “wonderful addition. Although she came late during volleyball season, she has been a wonderful sister to us on and off the team. She cheers for us when she’s not on the court and when she does get a chance to get on there, she gives her best every time.”

Perry said she plans to stay at Mt. Hood another year. Beyond that, her career plans are uncertain (if she could afford it, she’d love to save sea turtles). “Whether or not I’m going to play, I don’t know. It’ll take a lot for me to actually quit. I say I’ll quit, but I probably won’t.”

And yet, she has learned so much from the sport.

“I wouldn’t be as successful and driven as I am today without volleyball. When I started volleyball it was the only consistent thing in my life and that’s what drove me to play for this long and that’s given me characteristics that a lot of people don’t have… It’s given me drive and motivation to be the best,” she said.

“If you think you are leveled out and can’t do any better, there’s always something you can do better, or learn.”