Naperville North senior Liz Rossi has a knack for staying up when everyone around her is down.

The 5-foot-11 right-side hitter is a beacon of positivity even in times of uncertainty.

“She’s always positive, and I think no matter what the circumstances, she finds a way to encourage her teammates and lead by example, and that’s something she can always fall back on,” Naperville North coach Jennifer Urban said. “She does that by continuous communication throughout practices and matches.”

Two recent events are illustrative of the impact that Rossi, a three-year varsity player and first-time co-captain, has had on the Huskies. The first came after starting senior setter Leah Norris suffered an injury over the weekend.

“I had to step up in the 5-1, and that’s what we did,” Naperville North junior setter Paige Selman said. “I remember Liz pulled me aside and said, ‘We all have faith in you, and you’re an amazing setter, and we can trust you to do what you can do.’

“It gave me a lot of confidence.”

Selman put that confidence to use Thursday, when she served the final seven points as the visiting Huskies overcame a nine-point deficit in the third set to edge Waubonsie Valley 25-16, 21-25, 25-23 in a DuPage Valley Conference match in Aurora that wrapped up the regular season.

Waubonsie Valley (17-18, 5-5) led 21-12 in the final set and was two points from victory with a 23-17 cushion when Rossi began the remarkable comeback for the Huskies (20-15, 7-3) with a kill.

As Selman stepped to the service line, she heard one voice above the din. It was Rossi’s.

“She’s always super, super loud,” Selman said. “I can always hear her on the court. She’s just super high energy and an amazing player and an amazing teammate.”

Rossi led the Huskies with seven kills and two blocks. Her crosscourt winner clinched their victory in the final regular-season match of her high school career.

It was a fitting coda to another fine performance by the Huskies’ emotional leader.

“I think being loud is my biggest attribute,” Rossi said. “When players are down or aren’t talking, it’s my job to pick them up, so that was my mindset in that third set.

“Being loud is something I think can really help flip the game around, and I think that’s what we did. It’s important to just have faith in your teammates and have faith that they’re going to do their jobs, and as long as you do yours and we come together as a team, it will be fine.”

Rossi, who will play beach volleyball at Oregon, takes the same approach to life off the court. She said she chose Oregon in part because it has a highly regarded program in special education, which will be her major.

“I’ve always loved working with kids and working with other people,” Rossi said. “Throughout my middle school years, I was involved in the special education P.E. program where I would help out special ed peers, and that carried over into high school.

“I took my first intro to teaching class where I was able to observe other schools and other kids. That helped my motivation. I ended up deciding that’s what I wanted to do.”

Rossi is heavily involved in Naperville North’s adaptive physical education program and said she wants to teach at the high school level.

“It’s always super exciting knowing that each day people are going to become more independent,” she said. “There’s a big teacher shortage right now, so I just want to help.”

Urban said Rossi has been a big help to the Huskies.

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“Liz has been a tremendous leader for us on and off the court the entire season,” Urban said. “She’s been on teams that have had a lot of success, and now she’s stepping into being someone our team depends on to score.

“She’s an incredibly hard worker, and we’re so proud of her. She’s just in a class of her own.”

But Rossi won’t take sole credit for the Huskies’ success this season.

“It’s very exciting working with a lot of great players,” she said. “My teammates are very encouraging and supportive, so it’s easy to get excited for them.

“I’m making the most of it because it’s coming to an end soon.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.