Karolyn Kirby

Last updated

Karolyn Kirby
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
BornJune 30, 1961 (1961-06-30) (age 62)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
College / UniversityUtah State University
Volleyball information
PositionSetter / Outside hitter
Number8 (national team)
National team
1986Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Medal record
Women's beach volleyball
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1997 Los Angeles Beach
Goodwill Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 St. Petersburg Beach
Women’s volleyball
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Goodwill Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1986 Moscow Indoor

Karolyn Kirby (born June 30, 1961, in Brookline, Massachusetts) is a retired female beach volleyball player from the United States. She won the bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships in Los Angeles, California, partnering with Nancy Reno. [1] The pair also won the 1992 Olympic tournament, at which time beach volleyball was a demonstration sport. [2]

Contents

In her career in beach volleyball, Kirby won 67 tournaments and $680,000 in prizes. [3] 29 of her tournament wins were with partner Liz Masakayan. [3]

Kirby won numerous awards as a beach volleyball player. She was WPVA Most Valuable Player in 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. [3] She was WPVA Best Offensive Player in 1990 and WPVA Best Hitter in 1992. [3] She was WPVA Best Setter in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. [3]

In 2004, Kirby was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. [4]

College

Kirby was twice an AIAW volleyball All-American at Utah State University (USU), leading the Aggies to consecutive top 10 national finishes from 1979 to 1981. [5] Kirby helped USU to a combined record of 106-38 (.736) over the three years that she played for the school, including a second-place finish in the 1979 AIAW Nationals at 35–5. [5] Additionally, Kirby was twice an Intermountain All-Conference selection (1980–81). [5]

Kirby was inducted into the Utah State University Hall of Fame in 1995. [5]

National team

Kirby was briefly on the United States women's national volleyball team in 1986, and was a teammate of Masakayan. [6]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misty May-Treanor</span> American beach volleyball player (born 1977)

Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor is a retired American professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and as of August 2012, was the most successful female beach volleyball player having won 112 tournaments in domestic and international competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karch Kiraly</span> American volleyball player and coach

Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly is an American volleyball player, coach, and broadcast announcer. He was a central part of the U.S National Team that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He went on to win the gold medal again at the 1996 Olympic Games, the first Olympic competition to feature beach volleyball. He is the only player to have won Olympic medals of any color in both the indoor and beach volleyball categories. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins, where his teams won three national championships under head coach Al Scates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly McPeak</span> American beach volleyball player

Holly McPeak is a retired American indoor and beach volleyball player. McPeak was three-times an Olympian in beach volleyball. In the professional circuit, she garnered 72 career beach volleyball titles, with career earnings of $1.4 million USD. She is ranked third in titles won and second in career earnings for female professional beach volleyball players. She won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics with partner Elaine Youngs. Though McPeak was considered short for a beach volleyball player at 5 feet 7 inches in height, she was one of the toughest players to beat on the tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Youngs</span> American beach volleyball player

Elaine Youngs is an American former professional volleyball player who competed both indoors and on the beach.

Christopher St. John "Sinjin" Smith is an American former professional beach volleyball player. He was the first player to win 100 career tournaments, and won numerous Manhattan Open titles with Karch Kiraly and Randy Stoklos as partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins</span> Sports team name of University of California at Los Angeles

The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I. UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 121 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women.

Randy Stoklos is a retired American beach volleyball player. He is the first player to earn $1 million playing competitive beach volleyball. He is a five-time winner of the prestigious Manhattan Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloy Ball</span> American volleyball player

Lloy James Ball is an American former volleyball player, a member of American national team in 1993–2008, a participant of the Olympic Games and gold medalist of Olympics Beijing 2008, gold medalist of the NORCECA Championship 2007 and World League 2008, silver medalist of the Pan American 1995, bronze medalist of the World Championship 1994, and 2015 inductee to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. When not on the court actively playing the game, Ball operates Team Pineapple, a volleyball clinic that also features his father, Arnie Ball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Aggies</span> Sports program of Utah State University

The Utah State Aggies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan. The school fields 16 sports teams – seven men and nine women – and compete in the Mountain West Conference.

Lori Ann Endicott is a retired female volleyball player from the United States. She played for the University of Nebraska and then for the United States national team, winning a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Caren Marie Alexius Kemner is an American former volleyball player and three-time Olympian.

Nancy Reno is a retired female beach volleyball player from the United States. She won the bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships in Los Angeles, California, partnering with Karolyn Kirby. The pair also won the tournament at the 1992 Olympics, at which time beach volleyball was a demonstration sport. Reno finished in fifth place at the inaugural Olympic Beach Volleyball Competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics, alongside Holly McPeak.

John Andrew Banachowski is an American volleyball coach. He was the head coach of the women's volleyball team at UCLA. He had more wins than any other Division I coach, with 1,106 total victories and an overall record since the 1970 season of 1,106-301 (.786), until his record was broken on September 6, 2013, by University of Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji. He did not coach the two seasons from 1968-1970 after his graduation from UCLA. Under his coaching, the UCLA team won six national championships. Banachowski was twice an All-American volleyball player at UCLA under Al Scates, and won USVBA national championships in 1965 and 1967 as a player. While at UCLA he joined Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.

Debbie Green-Vargas is an American retired volleyball player and coach. She is regarded as the greatest American women's volleyball setter of all time. Green-Vargas was a member of the U.S. National Team and won the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Mary Joan "Mary Jo" Peppler is a retired American volleyball player and coach. Peppler was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1990. She also played professional basketball with the New Jersey Gems of the Women's Professional Basketball League for one season.

Laurie Flachmeier Corbelli is a former professional indoor volleyball player. She won a silver medal with the United States national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Liz Masakayan is a former indoor and beach volleyball player, and is currently a coach. She participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics with the United States women's national volleyball team, and as a beach volleyball player won a total of 47 tournaments in her career.

Rita Louise Crockett is an American former competitive volleyball player. Crockett was a silver medalist at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernanda Venturini</span> Brazilian volleyball player

Fernanda Porto Venturini is a former volleyball player from Brazil and a four-time Olympian. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where she won the bronze medal with the Brazilian women's national volleyball team. She is regarded as one of the best setters of all time.

Annette Cottle is a former volleyball player and coach. She played collegiately for BYU and Utah State.

References

  1. @barringer_a (April 4, 2019). "The 1997 World Championships". Beachmajors.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  2. "AVP 101: The Basics Of Beach Volleyball". Association of Volleyball Professionals . July 10, 2019. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Karolyn Kirby". Beach Volleyball Database . Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  4. "Karolyn Kirby". International Volleyball Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Karolyn Kirby". Utahstateaggies.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. Smith, Shelley (July 5, 1993). "Liz Masakayan and Karolyn Kirby". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.


Sporting positions
Preceded by
Inaugural
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Reno

1992
Succeeded by
Flag of the United States.svg  Liz Masakayan
and Karolyn Kirby (USA)
Preceded by
Flag of the United States.svg  Nancy Reno
and Karolyn Kirby (USA)
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Flag of the United States.svg Liz Masakayan

1993
Succeeded by