AVERI MACKEY

WAGONER HIGH SCHOOL

Wagoner High School sophomore Averi Mackey is one of those athletes that you can classify as being very mature for her age and a passionate volleyball player.

“She’s a hard worker with a very outgoing personality,” said her coach Jayce Stimson. “She hates to disappoint and so she’s super hard on herself, but she makes up for it with her leadership which is so great for a sophomore.”

Averi had some cousins that played volleyball and so she started in seventh grade and was playing travel ball by eighth grade. Like most athletes moving from junior high to high school, there was a bit of a transition for Averi.

“Last year most of our players were seniors and they were kind of scary to me,” laughed Averi. “They knew so much more than I did but they helped me so much. I think playing travel ball where we’re playing against older girls all the time and the fact that it’s year-round helped me as well,” said Averi who is in FCA and plans to get into art club this year. 

According to her coach, Averi is also undergoing some physical growing up as well.

“She was a bit awkward last year because her body really hasn’t grown into her long arms yet but she’s getting better at staying under her feet. She’s also left-handed which is an advantage when she’s playing in the middle because defenders at the net generally aren’t used to seeing the ball come at them from a different angle and they don’t always adjust,” said Stimson of her middle hitter.

Although she’s just got one season under her belt, Averi has a highlight game from last season. “Against Oologah I had a lot of kills and Hudl had me with the number one kill in Oklahoma that week.”

And to show how mature she is, her outlook on leadership at a young age is interesting.

“I like to encourage others because I want to be a coach when I get older, so I try to help if I see someone doing something wrong and I try to see the potential in everyone and not rely just on a first impression.”