Avery Cukjati was chosen as the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association All-State Player of the Year, the Tacoma News Tribune 4A Player of the Year, and the Tacoma Athletic Commission Athlete of the Year after leading her Curtis High School volleyball team to a 27-0 record and the 2024 4A state championship. The individual honors and the team accomplishment capped an outstanding four-year career for the senior outside hitter.  

In the fall of 2021, Avery came into a Curtis High School volleyball program that had seen a good deal of success in the 2000s. She was one of three ninth graders who helped the Vikings not only maintain that tradition of success but turn it up a notch during the next four years.  

In her first season, Avery was a starter and helped lead Curtis to first-place finishes in the South Puget Sound League and the West Central District tournament before a second-place performance in the 4A state tournament. As a sophomore, Avery was a key component in the Vikings’ run to a fifth-place state finish.  

Individual accolades followed in 2023 when Avery, a Curtis team captain, earned 4A SPSL first team honors in helping the Vikings place seventh in the state.  

That set the stage for Avery’s outstanding senior season. In addition to leading the Vikings to the state title as the WIAA 4A Player of the Year, the team captain was named the SPSL 4A Offensive Player of the Year, earning all-tournament honors. She finished the season with 359 kills, 4.2 kills per game, and a .242 attack percentage in addition to 200 digs and 36 aces. In addition to winning the state title, Curtis High swept league and West Central District championships.  

Avery has played seven years of club volleyball for South Sound Volleyball Club and Puget Sound Volleyball Club, and four years of beach volleyball for nationally ranked Dakine Volleyball Club. She has earned numerous accolades as a beach volleyball player, including 2023 Junior Volleyball Association Best in Beach for Class of 2025, and 2024 JVA Players to Watch Class of 2025.  

A multi-talented athlete, Avery has also played two seasons as a wide receiver for the fledgling Curtis High School girls flag football team, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2024.  

Avery, who turned 18 in March, received a four-year athletic scholarship to play beach volleyball at Santa Clara University.