By Michael Wojtychiw

A player doesn’t come into an athletic career with their sights set on breaking records.

But sometimes, those milestones occur, whether you know it or not.

For Payton setter Isa Hughes, she knew she was approaching breaking the 1,000 career assist barrier. MaxPreps and other stats software helped in that way. But it was still something that sat on the senior’s mind throughout the first week or so of the regular season.

“I knew we were getting close,” Hughes said. “It was actually in a tournament and didn’t know I hit it until I saw the stats afterwards and it hit me ‘Oh my gosh, I did it.’

“I’m really proud of myself to be able to do it.”

Hughes has been a member of the Grizzlies’ varsity squad for the majority of her time at the Near North Side school, and stepped into the starting lineup as a sophomore.

She’s the latest in a long line of talented Payton setters, one that has included players like Gabby Scholtes, who was the Grizzlies’ setter before Hughes. Watching players like those prior helped her become the setter she is, according to her coach Alyssa Butler.

However, there are a number of things that set her apart from others before her.

“She works really hard,” Butler said. “She’s someone who wants to get better every time she plays. She wants to hit every goal and every mark each time.

“This is really a testament of how hard she can work and she shows others that if everyone can work this hard, the goals are obtainable.”

While Butler and Hughes envisioned she would have a good career, hitting the 1,000 career assist mark wasn’t something they had on their bingo cards.

“She came into Payton very timid, very shy,” Butler said. “She’s grown so much from her movement to her talking. Her IQ of the game, just her awareness of who to set and where everyone will be on the court.

“I saw such a huge improvement last season, it was looking like she might actually break it then. I knew it was going to happen, I was hoping for it to be a home match, but the fact she did it was amazing.”

“My freshman year, I didn’t think I’d be here right now,” Hughes said. “I saw other setters reach 1,000 assists their junior or senior years when I was growing up, but never imagined it for myself.”

Hughes earned the honor in the first weeks of the season and kept accumulating assists in bunches as the season went along.

The senior, who hopes to play in college next season, finished the year with 561 assists, including a league-high 155 in conference play.

Hughes plays for the Chicago Elite Volleyball Club in the offseason, a club she’s been at for the last eight years. Butler, while not her direct club coach, has been with Chicago Elite for the last 10 years and has seen the way her setter has grown on the court during the club season as well.

“I don’t even have to tell her what to do on the court anymore,” Butler said. “The game grows so fast and I’m glad she’s been able to keep up with how fast it’s going.

“She always wants reps, always wants to get better. Always wants to know what she can do to improve and that’s what’s led the team to where we are now.

“This is definitely her golden year.”

Hughes has seen a change in herself as well, especially since she took over the starting role her sophomore year.

“Sophomore year, it was different for me because I had juniors and seniors to look up to and I wasn’t a captain, so felt like I had less responsibility,” she said. “Now, I have mentees and it’s an amazing feeling.”

Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA