2024 NewsTribune Volleyball Player of the Year: La Salle-Peru’s Ava Currie

The summer before Ava Currie’s sophomore year at La Salle-Peru, she was pulled up to varsity for workouts and matches along with several other underclassmen.

As the summer went on, fewer and fewer underclassmen were playing with the varsity until Currie was the only one left.

“Sophomore year when I got pulled up, I was so happy, but it was an adjustment,” Currie said. “It was hard to adjust because at that time I was really an introvert, so it was scary for me.

“It was nerve-racking because I wasn’t very talkative. The girls were all so nice, but I felt I wasn’t good enough to compete with them and play with them. But once I started getting used to everybody, it was so easy to get along with all the girls. I ended up having a great time that year.”

Currie said that experience her sophomore year along with the following two years playing helped her become a more outgoing person.

“I would say I’ve opened up a lot more,” Currie said. “I’ve definitely come out of my shell since then. I feel like I’m way more extroverted now. I am very talkative, and I love meeting new people and talking to new people. I think the experience helped me to become the person that I am today.”

While that sophomore season helped Currie transform from introvert to extrovert, she said it also gave her a leg up for her junior and senior seasons.

“It gave me a better look at what to expect the next year,” Currie said.

Currie was a dominant middle hitter the past two seasons who - extroverted or not - was able to say a lot on the court by providing a big block and powerful swings.

This fall, Currie led the area in blocks at 1.3 per set (98 blocks in 77 sets) and ranked eighth in the area in kills at 2.7 per set (197).

Currie helped the Cavaliers win the Interstate 8 Conference title for the first time since 2019 and finish with a 28-6 record. She was named first-team All-Interstate 8 Conference and voted all-tournament at Springfield Lutheran and Limestone.

For all she accomplished this season, Currie is the 2024 NewsTribune Volleyball Player of the Year. She is the first L-P player to win the honor since Kamryn Olson in 2019.

“She had a positive attitude, she’s a hard worker, she’s very coachable, and she’s extremely athletic,” L-P coach Mark Haberkorn said. “I thought she had an outstanding senior year.”

Currie’s dominating presence in the middle was a critical factor in L-P’s success on both sides of the ball.

“It really helps our defense [to have a strong blocker in the middle],” Haberkorn said. “Blocking is the first line of defense, and it makes the back row players’ job a lot easier. … Offensively, we committed to our middles a lot, so that gave the outside hitters a lot of opportunity to be successful. I always felt [talented] middles make the whole offense a lot better.”

Currie recorded two or more blocks in 29 of L-P’s 34 matches.

“I think I’m pretty good at blocking,” Currie said. “Hab used to say when we block well we overall play well. I think blocking was a big part of our team.

“Speed is very important thing. If you’re not on time for the block it’s not going to do anything. I think my ability to jump – I do have a pretty good vertical – helps me a lot, too, and I do have really long arms, so that helps.”

Offensively, Currie was very efficient as she had a 47.4 kill percentage and 35.3 hitting percentage.

“She was very effective for us all season,” Haberkorn said. “She has the ability to hit left or right or tip. She’s very versatile mixing up power and finesse. Her experience and drive were important factors in reading the back row and finding the best seam to attack. She has a really quick hand and really quick snap that makes her very tough to block. She has a lot of power in a short, quick motion.”

Currie’s presence in the middle helped the Cavs have a lot of success the past two seasons as they won 58 matches and claimed a regional title last season and a conference championship this fall.

“I’m just really thankful I had the opportunity to be on a team like this,” said Currie, who is undecided about playing volleyball in college. “I couldn’t have been on a better team.

“I’m grateful for the experience I got at L-P.”