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Whatever the recipe for success is, Rhaia Davey must have it.
The Dunham School star was named the Metro and State MVP in volleyball, while helping lead Dunham throughout its dominant regular season and impressive postseason run.
The Tigers didn’t drop a single set in the playoffs until the finals, where they ultimately downed E.D. White, 3-1, to take the state title with Davey recording 25 kills and four blocks in the process.
“The last time (Dunham) won the state championship was in 2005,” says Davey, who was born that same year. “I was just so proud and so hungry to go get what we’ve all been wanting for so long. Seeing all the pieces click within my team and how we worked so well together … we actually love each other like a family. Just having that energy move throughout and seeing where I was freshman and sophomore year … I’m just really proud of how I got there.”
It certainly wasn’t an easy journey for Davey, who fought back from a torn ACL and torn meniscus injuries she suffered her first two years at Dunham. The time away from volleyball forced her to work on the mental side of sports, which is often even tougher than the physical challenges.
“For those two seasons, I wasn’t really doing anything (on the court),” Davey says. “I couldn’t really play club, and so I was just sitting there trying to figure out how I was going to make myself better without physically being able to make myself better. So I read a lot; I wrote a lot. I was (working on) how I could begin to get mentally tough.”
The plan must have worked, because the accolades continued to roll in for Davey. She was eventually named the Star of Stars for volleyball, was a two-time District Champion in the Javelin, and boasts a 4.0 GPA while being on the Student Leadership committee at Dunham.
Davey has signed with Mississippi College to play volleyball, and even more success is sure to come for this Rising Star.
Read more Rising Stars profiles here.
