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
Personal information
NationalityCanada Canadian
Born (1994-08-07) August 7, 1994 (age 30)
Lethbridge, Alberta[1]
HometownCalgary, Alberta
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Spike323 cm (127 in)
Block315 cm (124 in)
College / UniversityBYU
Volleyball information
PositionOutside hitter
Current clubEczacıbaşı Dynavit
Number9 (national team)
9 (club)
Career
YearsTeams
2008–2011Canada Calgary Dinos
2012–2015United States BYU
2016–2017South Korea GS Caltex Seoul KIXX
2017–2018Italy Volley Soverato
2018–2019Italy Casalmaggiore
2019–2020Italy Golden Tulip Volalto Caserta
2019–2020Italy Scandicci
2020–2022Italy Busto
2022–2023Italy Imoco Volley Conegliano
2023–PresentTurkey Eczacıbaşı Dynavit
National team
2017–presentCanada Canada
Honours
Women's volleyball
Representing  Canada
NORCECA Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2019 San Juan Team
Pan-American Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Santo Domingo Team
FIVB Challenger Cup
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Team

Personal life

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Gray 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

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College

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Gray 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

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Canadian national team

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Gray 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

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College

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  • 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

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International

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References

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  1. ^ "FIVB Profile". FIVB. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  2. ^ "CEV Champions League Volley 2022 - Alexa Gray". Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "Eczacıbaşı Spor Kulübü | Eczacıbaşı Spor Kulübü - Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Oyuncu Kadrosu". www.eczacibasisporkulubu.org.tr. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  4. ^ a b c "College women's volleyball: BYU freshmen make big impact". sltrib.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Alexa Gray - BYU profile". BYUcougars.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "espnW Volleyball Player Of The Week: BYU's Alexa Gray". ESPN.com. 24 November 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "BYU volleyball: Mother's tragic death inspires Cougars' Gray to greatness". sltrib.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Former BYU volleyball star Alexa Gray selected for Canada's national team". deseret.com. 19 May 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "Roster released for the 2018 Women's FIVB World Championships". Volleyball Canada. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "Gray named MVP of NORCECA Women's Challenger". NORCECA. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
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