For nearly as long as Naperville Central senior Sarah Butler can remember, she has wanted to emulate her older sister Grace.
That’s why she began playing volleyball when she 5 years old and became a setter.
“I grew up watching my sister play, and like most younger sisters, they want to basically be their older sister,” Butler said. “So being able to grow up watching her play and how competitive it was, I fell in love with the sport.
“She was a setter, too, at the same club that I started out at. I went to all her tournaments. So I think that from a very young age, I kind of knew I wanted to go as far as I could with the sport.”
Grace Butler was a captain as a senior for the Redhawks in 2019, when they went 28-10 and won their most recent regional title.
Sarah Butler will cap her high school career as a captain for the Redhawks in the coming season, her third on varsity. But after that, she will take a different path than her older sister.
Grace Butler opted not to play college volleyball. She graduated from South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in English in May.
But Sarah Butler will continue playing. She has committed to Austin Peay State and said her older sister is happy for her.
“She preferred a bigger school over being able to play volleyball,” Sarah Butler said. “She’s always been super supportive of me. When I told her I was thinking about playing in college, she was nothing but supportive. She told me to go wherever I wanted.”
Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson, who has coached both sisters, is happy for Sarah Butler too.
“For as long as I’ve had interaction with her, she’s wanted to play college volleyball,” Isaacson said. “So it’s exciting for me to get to see her have her dreams come true and have an opportunity to play high-level volleyball.
“It’s been a journey, and it’s been fun to watch.”
Butler has a lot of fun on the volleyball court. It shows in her unwavering upbeat attitude.
“It’s a fun sport to play,” she said. “I love how competitive it gets, and I love the team atmosphere of it. I love being able to rely on your teammates and the fact that it’s never one person’s fault. It’s always a team effort.”
Butler is at the center of that effort for the Redhawks (19-16). As a junior, she had 530 assists, 105 digs, 41 aces and 17 blocks.
“She is always working hard regardless of what is going on around her,” Isaacson said. “If it’s an intense practice or more of a walk-through practice day, she’s always giving 100%.
“She’s incredibly receptive to feedback, so she loves to get it and to make herself the best version of herself that she can be. And with that, she is incredibly positive, which is contagious to her teammates. So it’s been a pleasure working with her for the last three years.”
Butler, who said she has a 4.0 GPA, has more than 1,000 career assists and is thrilled to be committed to Austin Peay, which is the first school she contacted when she started her recruiting process two years ago. But individual numbers aren’t what get her pumped up.
“As a setter, I love being able to set up my hitters for success,” she said. “I get a lot of joy in the sport from watching my hitters and my other teammates find success.”
The Redhawks could be set up for even more success with Butler and two powerful senior hitters, San Jose State commit Georgia Von Lehmden and Makenna Devick, back for a third varsity season.
“I’m super excited about this year,” Butler said. “Our senior year, we definitely want to have fun, but we’re hungry to compete. I have very high hopes.”
Isaacson does, too, based on what she saw last season.
“Last year as juniors they were more dominant, she was more dominant, she was more in control, she had a better understanding of what should be happening,” Isaacson said. “I saw a huge increase in her skill set but also in the mental part of the game, which allowed our attackers to be even more successful.
“So now I anticipate her to really dominate that part of the game and be totally comfortable and in control throughout the season.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
