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. Kiraly is widely regarded as the greatest male volleyball player of all time.
Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964.
The Russia men's national volleyball team is governed by the Russian Volleyball Federation and took part in international volleyball competitions.
The Brazil men's national volleyball team is governed by the Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol(Brazilian Volleyball Confederation) and takes part in international volleyball competitions. Brazil has won three gold medals at the Olympic Games, has won the World Championship three times, and the World League nine times. Brazil is the national volleyball team that has won the most titles overall, and also the team that has won most titles outside their regional competition. The team is sometimes referred to as volleyball's "Dream Team" specially in reference to its winning streak period under coach Bernardo Rezende. Currently Brazil is ranked seventh on the FIVB World Rankings.
Foluke Atinuke Gunderson is an indoor volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for Japanese club Hisamitsu Springs. Born in Canada, she represents the United States internationally. Gunderson won gold with the national team at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix, 2014 World Championship, the Rimini Volleyball Nations League, and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Her 2020 Olympics win allowed her to complete the trifecta of winning an Olympic bronze, silver, and gold medal.
Steve Dennis Timmons is an American former volleyball player who represented the United States at three consecutive Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in 1984 and 1988, and a bronze medal in 1992. He was named the MVP of the 1984 Olympics by the International Volleyball Federation. He was a pioneer of back row hitting.
The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball, and it has won six Olympic medals, with three of them gold.
Hugh Donald McCutcheon, a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, is a former volleyball coach. He previously coached the US men's and women's national volleyball team, and was the head coach for the University of Minnesota's women's volleyball team from 2012 to 2022. Starting in January 2023, McCutcheon is the assistant athletics director/sport development coach at Minnesota, after announcing his resignation from the volleyball team at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
Paula Jo Weishoff is a retired female volleyball player from the United States and three-time Olympian who played with the United States women's national volleyball team. As a middle blocker, Weishoff won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where she was named as the tournament's outstanding player. She also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Beach volleyball was introduced at the Summer Olympic Games in the 1992 Games as a demonstration event, and has been an official Olympic sport since 1996.
Eugene Bleecher Selznick was an American volleyball player and coach. He played on world championship and Pan American Games championship teams. He was also inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Jordan Quinn Larson is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team. A four-time Olympian, Larson earned the USA its first-ever gold in women's volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She also has two silver medals from the 2012 and 2024 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Kimberly Hill is an American former professional volleyball player who played as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team. Hill won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Kelsey Marie Robinson Cook is an American indoor volleyball player of the United States women's national volleyball team. Robinson won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, the Rimini Volleyball Nations League, and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The initial gap between championships was variable, but since 1962, they were held every four years. The tournament will be held biennially starting in 2025.
The FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The initial gap between championships was variable, but since 1970 they have been awarded every four years. The tournament will be held biennially starting in 2025.
The FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. Initially, the tournament was played in the year following the Olympic Games, except for 1973 when no tournament was held, but since 1991 the World Cup has been awarded in the year preceding the Olympic Games. The 2023 edition, however, did not take place as the qualification tournament for the 2024 Summer Olympics was not officially recognized by the FIVB as a World Cup.
Justine Wong-Orantes is an American volleyball player who plays as libero for the United States women's national volleyball team. She played college volleyball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, where she won an NCAA national championship. She began playing for U.S. national team in 2017. In 2021, she was one of twelve players who won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the first-ever gold medal finish for the women's national team.
Andrea Carrie "Annie" Drews is an American professional volleyball player for the United States women's national volleyball team. Drews was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the 2019 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League in Nanjing, China, where Team USA won the gold medal and the Best Opposite of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup where the U.S. finished in second place. She won gold with the national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Michelle Bartsch-Hackley is an American professional volleyball player for the United States women's national volleyball team. She played collegiate volleyball with the University of Illinois Fighting Illini from 2008 to 2011. She won gold with the national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
