Alexa Lea Gray[2] (born August 7, 1994) is a Canadian volleyball player. She is part of the Canadian women's national volleyball team. Professionally, she plays for the Turkish club Eczacıbaşı Dynavit.[3]
| Alexa Lea Gray | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Canadian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 7, 1994 Lethbridge, Alberta[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Calgary, Alberta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 323 cm (127 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 315 cm (124 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College / University | BYU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Outside hitter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Eczacıbaşı Dynavit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 9 (national team) 9 (club) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Personal life
editGray attended high school at Centennial High School in Calgary.[4] She began playing volleyball in sixth grade and played for Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball club and helped them to U15 and U17 provincial champ titles and U16 and U17 national champ title.
She also played rugby and basketball in high school.[5]
Gray has attributed her motivation to her late mother, Stacey French. Her mother was also an athlete and played basketball at Southern Utah. When Gray was 13, she and her sister survived a car accident that claimed her mother's life. While driving from Montana, an elk struck the car, causing it to roll several times.[6] Gray's father, Evric Gray, played basketball at UNLV and is a high school basketball coach.[7]
Gray is a Mormon, and opted to attend Brigham Young University to play in college.[6]
Career
editCollege
editGray played for BYU and was three time All-American. In her first season in 2012, she was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.[4] She won West Coast Conference player of the year back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. She helped BYU to a national runner up finish in 2014, the first time BYU ever made it to a championship match.
She finished her career at BYU ranked second in kills and attempts and sixth in points (all which ranked first during rally-scoring era) and sets played.[5]
Professional clubs
edit
GS Caltex Seoul KIXX (2016–2017)
Volley Soverato (2017–2018)- Casalmaggiore (2018–2019)
- Golden Tulip Volalto Caserta (2019–2020)
- Scandicci (2019–2020)
- Busto (2020–2022)
- Imoco Volley Conegliano (2022-2023)
Eczacıbaşı Dynavit (2023-present)
Canadian national team
editGray joined the Canadian national team in 2017.[8]
She participated at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, 2018 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup, and 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup.[9] She has won international awards with the national team: she was named "Best Scorer" and "Best Spiker" at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup and "Best Spiker" at the 2019 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship. She was named the MVP at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup qualification.[10]
Awards and honors
editCollege
edit- AVCA All American – First Team (2015); Second Team (2014); Third Team (2013)[5]
- West Coast Conference Player of the Year – 2014, 2015[5]
- West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year – 2012[4]
Clubs
edit- 2022–23 Italian League -
Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano 2022-23 MVP of 5th and deciding match vs. Vero Volley Milano - 2022-23 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
- 2022 Italian Supercup - Champions, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
- 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
- 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship - Champion, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit
International
edit- 2019 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship – Best Spiker
- 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup – Best Spiker
- 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup – Best Scorer
- 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup qualification – Most Valuable Player
- 2022–23 Italian League "Most valuable player"
References
edit- ^ "FIVB Profile". FIVB. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "CEV Champions League Volley 2022 - Alexa Gray". Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Eczacıbaşı Spor Kulübü | Eczacıbaşı Spor Kulübü - Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Oyuncu Kadrosu". www.eczacibasisporkulubu.org.tr. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ a b c "College women's volleyball: BYU freshmen make big impact". sltrib.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Alexa Gray - BYU profile". BYUcougars.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b "espnW Volleyball Player Of The Week: BYU's Alexa Gray". ESPN.com. 24 November 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "BYU volleyball: Mother's tragic death inspires Cougars' Gray to greatness". sltrib.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Former BYU volleyball star Alexa Gray selected for Canada's national team". deseret.com. 19 May 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Roster released for the 2018 Women's FIVB World Championships". Volleyball Canada. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Gray named MVP of NORCECA Women's Challenger". NORCECA. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
Exteneral links
edit- Alexa Gray at Volleyball Canada
- Busto bio
- Alexa Gray at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Alexa Gray at WorldofVolley
- Alexa Gray at Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile (in Italian)
