💥 GET TO KNOW SALLY PEREZ

Name: Sally Perez

Age: 15

Hometown: Raleigh, NC

High School name and Graduating class year: Outside Hitter, Middle Creek High School, Cary, NC, 2024

College Commitment (if any): UCLABeach

Club and city/town where club is located: Sinjin Beach, Morrisville, NC

Recent tournaments and finishes/awards:

• p1440 Futures Tour #2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL-1st Place w/ Skylar Martin (LSU)
• p1440 Futures Tour #5 San Antonio, TX-1st Place w/ Alexa Fernandez (UCLA)
• AAU Junior Olympics Hermosa, CA-1st Place w/ Ashley Pater (USC)

Hobbies: Traveling w/family, I love the beach! Love ANY board game. My favorite game is: Sequence. And watching any sporting event w/family but mostly Boston Celtics.

Favorite pro player: Sarah Sponcil

Favorite college player: Maddy Anderson (FSU) and Megan Kraft ( USC)

Started playing volleyball: Indoor (11) and Beach (12), quit indoor sophomore year (14).

Inspiration:

1. My brother Samuel, “I know how hard he has worked, to get to where he is!”
2. Kerri Walsh and how she focuses on her mental mindset, just as much as the physical game.

What do you enjoy most about p1440 tournaments? The competitive cultural at p1440. Bringing us all together to compete and make us better. After a day of competing, putting it all aside to spend time with your best friends.

Your fondest Fab50/p1440 experience/journey moment? THE SUMMITS…no pressure to compete,high-level training, staying in hotel rooms together, eating together and simply building the connection. Moments with Ria Rayand Kerri Walsh guiding us through the importance of our mental focus of the game.

Standout Moment: Losing against Ashley Vincent and Carra Sassack in Gulf Shores. It was a big moment to remind me that losses show you are not good enough yet. And you have to work hard to get there and stay there. You remember losses more than you remember WINS!

Favorite Snack: Loves dill pickles

Game Day Ritual: Sleep in as long as possible. Bagel w/cream cheese for breakfast

Winning the p1440 Futures Tour series: My competitive focus last season was on the p1440 Futures tours. I knew that’s where the best competition was going to be and this was my recruiting year. I had the best partners ever! I didn’t realize until Huntington Beach where I was on the leader board. It made me think about how good my partnerships were and we ALL earned scholarship money!

Advice for those that are coming up on their recruiting year: Focus on yourself as a player, give it your all and tune out the noise of what others are doing. Don’t worry about stories from others you are hearing. If you do not know the certainties leading up to June 15…it’s okay because you will know when it is the right fit!

Why UCLA: Before June 15, I really didn’t know. Everyone advised me I would know when I knew. My call on June 15, was solidified by my connection with coaches and my family and the best package. I also wanted to be in California…for the opportunities of pro ball and continuing competitively after college. Stein and Jenny have created a competitive culture that I was really looking for. Reminded me of how p1440 has created high competition to push us all to be better, while still having healthy friendships w/teammates. Lastly, I chose UCLA because i want to win some National Championships!!!

What are you most proud of: The improvements that I made in the last year. I knew leaving indoor it would push me to be the athlete I wanted to be. With more time in the sand and playing more tournaments. The extra hours I put in with my coach, Greg Vogel to push me to be a better player.

Partner that has pushed me the most: No doubt about it, Skylar Martin. She trusted me at a young age to start playing with me… in spite of me being younger. I know that gave me the confidence and strength to play my best game. Skylar helped me push my game along and how to play at the highest level. We communicate so well, succeed and fail together as partners. There is such a special trust between us!

More advice to Juniors: Find a group of friends that you can trust, so y’all can process, discuss what is going on and share honestly/openly with each other.

Do you encourage playing with others to develop as a teammate: I mostly enjoy playing with a variety of players, because it helps you adapt to others and makes you a versatile player. When I played with Alexa in San Antonio, it was our first time to play together. It was special because we both had success separately and we learned how to connect a partnership on/off the court. I enjoyed playing with her a lot because our strong suits are very complimentary to our strengths. Together I can count on us against anyone across the net.

Lastly: Go Bruins!