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Talegate Featured Athlete: Ava Ray, Cullman High School

Identity. Cullman’s Ava Ray has learned a little about that over the last year or so.

Though she’s been playing volleyball since the fourth grade, growing up playing in the Cullman Rec League, Ava says she “got serious” about the game when she started to play travel ball in the sixth grade. That seriousness eventually took over, and as Ava says, “I ate, slept, and breathed volleyball.”

But after a recent vertebrae injury, Ava has been forced to slow down. What was a four-day-a-week, three-and-a-half-hour-a-day obsession turned into a stair step pace as she worked her way back from injury. “I had to learn to be very patient with myself, especially coming back and gaining that muscle memory back. I had to rely on friends and family to help me get through it,” Ava says.

Now the senior outside hitter is in her final year of volleyball and hopes to one day pay it forward by becoming a teacher and volleyball coach after she graduates in May of 2025. She’s well on her way to doing just that, accumulating plenty of accolades along the way, both on the volleyball court and in the classroom.

The daughter of Patrick and Emily Ray, Ava has a 4.4 overall GPA at CHS and is involved in Interact Club, Key Club, National Honor Society, SNHS, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). She was named “Student Athlete of the Year” for 2024, was an Under Armor Next Camp attendee, and was named MVP of the Louisville Volleyball Team Camp. In addition, she reached a milestone of 1,000 career kills in volleyball.

Ava is coached by Amy Hudson and says that the emphasis this season for the Bearcats has been the overall team culture. “This year, we’ve made a lot of connections and we’ve focused on being a family first and everything will fall into place after that. So, we love each other, we’re happy to be around each other, and it’s really great,” Ava says.

In her spare time, Ava enjoys reading and running. She says her favorite weekend activity is going to the lake with friends.

Now that the injury has helped Ava to put things in perspective, expect her to reach even greater levels of success in the future. TG

A special thanks to our sponsor, Cullman Furniture Market. Photos by Al Blanton. Be sure and follow Talegate on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok!

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