- Alexa Gray returns to Utah after a decade, joining LOVB Salt Lake.
- Gray, a former BYU star, has had a successful international volleyball career.
- She aims to showcase her skills at LOVB Salt Lake's home opener Thursday.
SALT LAKE CITY — After 10 years away, Alexa Gray felt like she was coming back home.
The Calgary, Alberta native starred on the collegiate volleyball scene for four years at BYU, where she earned a pair of West Coast Conference player of the year awards, three AVCA All-American honors, and graduated as the Cougars' leader in kills, points and hitting attempts in the rally-scoring era.
So when the chance to play professional volleyball in her second home — one where her father currently resides and several family members are a short drive or flight away — she didn't hesitate.
The 6-foot-1 outside hitter was among a few new faces to sign with League One Volleyball ahead of the startup league's second season in the United States, and where Gray would be assigned in the single-entity league wasn't much of a surprise.
In a lot of ways, it was a relief.
"It's kind of a blessing that there's a team here," said Gray, the recent BYU Hall of Fame inductee who will join fellow BYU alums Roni Jones-Perry and Mary Lake at LOVB Salt Lake's home opener Thursday at Salt Lake Community College. "I'm really happy to be back in Utah and to be somewhere familiar after I spent four years in college here. It did feel like coming home during those four years, so it's really nice to be back and have several friends and family, and to know the area more than I did during overseas life. I'm grateful."
Gray returns to her adopted hometown as an experienced player, and one who has taken her game to the highest levels. Now she'll get to play in front of friends, family and — for at least two matches — the same fanbase that embraced her as a collegian.
LOVB Salt Lake announced late Tuesday that the second-year professional volleyball outfit will play two matches at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, hosting LOVB Nebraska on Feb. 7 and LOVB Atlanta on March 5 on BYU's home court.
"Playing at the Fieldhouse is very exciting for us," said LOVB Salt Lake coach Tama Miyashiro, the former two-time national defensive player of the year at Washington and U.S. international libero. "There's such a rich history with BYU's volleyball programs, and of course we're looking forward to having [BYU alumnae] Roni Jones-Perry, Mary Lake and Alexa Gray return to their former gym."
A member of the Canadian national team since 2017, Gray was named "beset spiker" when she led the Canadians to a bronze-medal finish at the 2019 NORCECA championships and best scorer the same year as the FIVB Women's Challenger Cup.
After beginning her pro career in Korea, Gray moved to Italy in 2017, where she played with six clubs — the last of which, Imoco Volley Conegliano in northern Italy — she helped lead to the FIVB Club World Championship in 2022.
After earning league MVP honors with Conegliano en route to A1 and Italian Cup titles, Gray moved to Türkiye — and repeated the feat of a world club title with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit to go along with two Turkish Cup silver medals in each of the past two seasons.
Gray admits pro volleyball wasn't always easy, and she's adjusted plenty. She jokes that BYU fans will see "significantly fewer" cross-court shots than her collegiate days, largely because pros teach newcomers very quickly to mix up your shots.
But she joins a team with plenty of pro experience, one that returned 13 players from LOVB's inaugural season, including Jones-Perry, Lake, former Utah and Brighton High star Dani Drews, and recent U.S. Olympians and founding athletes Jordyn Poulter and Haleigh Washington.
The club opened the season with a road split at LOVB Houston and LOVB Madison, and Serena Gray won league offensive player of the week honors after the middle blocker hit .677 with 21 kills on 31 attacks to go with six blocks over the two-match week.
Alexa Gray had 18 kills in the 3-0 win over Houston, and five kills and a block in the 3-0 loss to Madison as she's showed off a more well-rounded game than her college days.
"I think I've just learned the game more," Gray said. "Being overseas allowed me to play on some of the best teams in the world, with some of the best coaches in the world, and I think learning from them and moving up the ranks, I've learned the game better. I've learned to read the game on defense, to switch up shots, to be in better positions on defense. I think I've just learned more about the game."
First serve Thursday against LOVB Houston is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST at SLCC's Bruin Arena, and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
