CHICAGO (January 8, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Alexis Keeter of Grafton High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Virginia Volleyball Player of the Year. Keeter is the first Gatorade Virginia Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Grafton High School.

The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Keeter as Virginia’s best high school volleyball player.

From CEO's and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Harper Murray (2022-23, Skyline High School, Mich.), Kerri Walsh Jennings (1995-96, Archbishop Mitty High School, Calif.) and April Ross (1999-00, Newport Harbor High School, Calif.)

The 6-foot senior outside hitter recorded 544 kills and 442 digs this past season, leading the Clippers to the Class 3 State Championship match. Keeter added 57 service aces and 48 blocks while posting a .413 kill percentage and a .321 hitting percentage. The Class 3 Player of the Year, she is a three-time First Team All-State selection. She concluded her prep volleyball career with 1,593 kills and 1,223 digs.

Keeter has volunteered locally on behalf of community beautification projects and as a youth volleyball coach.

“Alexis is a very talented and well-rounded player,” said Stuart Burnett, Head Coach of New Kent High School. “As an attacker, she is very hard to defend against. She has a great vertical and if you don’t put up a good block, she can hammer the ball down. She hits effectively out of any position on the front row.”

In the classroom, Keeter has maintained a 3.52 GPA. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball on scholarship at Florida Gulf Coast University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.

The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Keeter joins recent Gatorade Virginia Volleyball Players of the Year Milan Rex (2022-23, Alexandria City High School), Akasha Anderson (2021-22, Herndon High School), Amanda Lowe (2020-21, Blacksburg High School), and Sydney Reed (2019-20, Flint Hill School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $4.9 million across more than 1,600 organizations.

*** To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade. ***