06 Jul AVA Local player spotlight – Deahna Kraft
June 22, 2017
Seattle, Washington – Finishing the best out of all local Seattle beach players, Deahna Kraft finished just one win short of making it into the AVP Seattle main draw. Her first AVP event was fittingly in her home town of Seattle and played with a fellow Pepperdine senior Delaney Knudsen. Kraft just finished her freshman year at Pepperdine, who had an exciting NCAA run making it all the way to the 2017 Championship Finals, taking second.
Kraft’s love for beach volleyball goes back to fond memories of family outings on Whidbey Island (an island off Washington’s coast) where she played volleyball in the tide flats till the tied came up to her knees. She admits wanting to initially play soccer but her Mom wanted her to try different sports as she was concerned that soccer had a high probability of injury.
So she started by playing some local indoor YMCA volleyball, then indoor at Garfield high school and eventually made it out to playing some beach volleyball locally, including some of the large local junior beach events in Seattle through the AVA, partnering with Cyrene Hertzog. Her and Cyrene travelled through California playing over 20 beach events. She made it to a Pepperdine camp at one point (with no expectations) thinking it would just be for fun and was then contacted by coaches.
Making the decision to stick with beach and giving up indoor, she’s never looked back. Humbled at the opportunity to play the AVP Seattle event with one of her mentors and senior at Pepperdine, Delaney, they showed great chemistry on the court and seemed to be having a blast all the time.
With a bright future ahead of her, she exhibits a humble “always wanting to learn” attitude, she looks up to the mentors in her life (her close friends at Pepperdine), wanting to compete with them but also learn from them and make them proud.
As a great mentor and inspiration for local volleyball players, we wish Deahna all the best in the future.
AVA’s mission for the past 10+years is to grow the sport of beach volleyball locally by inspiring the next generation of beach athletes to reach for their dreams to compete at the highest level, but also aspire to be good people on and off the court.
For over ten years now, AVA (Alki Volleyball Association) has been promoting the leading series of beach volleyball events at Alki beach in Seattle for all divisions with the goal to create opportunities for local players to improve and grow in their sport and get recognized on a national level. The AVA Junior Championship series of events at Alki starts in May and goes through September. Top finishers in AVA events gain a bid to the AVA Seattle Junior Championships Invitational (first week of August each year), which is the largest beach showcase event in the region, drawing D1 and D2 NCAA beach coaches to scout for talent.
