Know These 12 Volleyball Stars by Name and Achievement

Famous volleyball players to know include Karch Kiraly, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Lang Ping, Giba and Paola Egonu. The 12-player shortlist below spans countries, generations, indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. It is a starting point for learning names, not a measured ranking of worldwide fame.

Choose a group to practise; hide the names and use the achievement cues to recall them.

The Beach Pair Won Three Golds Together

1. Misty May-Treanor — United States

May-Treanor won three consecutive Olympic beach-volleyball gold medals with Kerri Walsh Jennings: Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Across those Games, the pair won 21 matches and lost just one set.

Before her beach career, May-Treanor was an indoor setter. For name recall, attach Misty May-Treanor to the three-title beach partnership rather than to a single Olympic tournament.

Recall cue: Misty → three golds on the sand. Source: International Volleyball Hall of Fame, Misty May-Treanor biography.

2. Kerri Walsh Jennings — United States

Walsh Jennings is the other half of that three-gold partnership. She also won bronze with April Ross at Rio 2016, bringing her Olympic medal total to four.

Learn the full name Kerri Walsh Jennings, rather than stopping at Walsh. The Rio bronze is the distinguishing clue when the shared three-gold achievement brings both partners to mind.

Recall cue: Misty’s partner → Kerri → a fourth medal in Rio. Source: International Volleyball Hall of Fame, Kerri Walsh Jennings biography.

Indoor Legends Include a Court-to-Sand Crossover

3. Karch Kiraly — United States, Indoor and Beach

Kiraly won Olympic indoor gold in 1984 and 1988, then beach gold in 1996. That combination makes him a useful bridge between the two versions of the sport.

His full name is Charles Frederick Kiraly, but Karch Kiraly is the name to know. The cue follows the order of his Olympic golds: two on the indoor court, then one on the sand.

Recall cue: Karch → court, court, sand. Hall of Fame biography

4. Lang Ping — China

Known as the “Iron Hammer,” Lang Ping was an outside hitter who helped China win the 1982 World Championship and 1984 Olympic gold.

Her nickname gives you a concrete image to attach to a short name. Practise the connection in both directions: “Iron Hammer” should bring up Lang Ping, and Lang Ping should bring up the nickname.

Recall cue: Iron Hammer → Lang Ping. Hall of Fame biography

5. Regla Torres — Cuba

Torres won Olympic gold with Cuba in 1992, 1996 and 2000. She was only 17 at the first of those victories.

A middle blocker and hitter, she was also honoured by the FIVB as the greatest female volleyball player of the 20th century. Her three indoor golds distinguish her cue from May-Treanor’s three beach golds.

Recall cue: Cuba → three golds → Torres. Hall of Fame biography

6. Giba — Brazil

The Brazilian star’s name is Gilberto Godoy Filho, but he is known worldwide as Giba. He won Olympic gold and the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award at Athens 2004, followed by Olympic silvers in 2008 and 2012.

Use the short name as your recall target, with Gilberto as the clue that separates him from Gabi, another Brazilian player on this list.

Recall cue: Brazil’s 2004 gold → Giba. Hall of Fame biography

Recent-Era Stars Have Distinct Tournament Cues

7. Kim Yeon Koung — South Korea

Kim won the MVP award at the London 2012 Olympics. The outside hitter also built a major international club career, including a 2012 European Champions League title with Fenerbahce.

Practise Kim Yeon Koung as a complete name; “Kim” alone is only the starting point for this entry. London 2012 is her Olympic award cue.

Recall cue: Korea → London MVP → Kim Yeon Koung. FIVB profile

8. Zhu Ting — China

Zhu Ting won Olympic gold with China at Rio 2016 and was named the tournament’s MVP. She was later selected as one of China’s flag bearers for the Tokyo Olympics.

Keep the tournament in the cue: Rio MVP points to Zhu Ting, while Iron Hammer points to Lang Ping. Both represent China, so the country alone does not separate the names on this shortlist.

Recall cue: China’s Rio MVP → Zhu Ting. Volleyball World profile

9. Paola Egonu — Italy

Egonu was the MVP of the Paris 2024 women’s tournament, helping Italy win its first Olympic gold in women’s volleyball. The opposite hitter scored 22 points in the final against the United States.

Pair the first and last names when practising: Paola Egonu. Italy, Paris and the women’s MVP award form the distinguishing cue.

Recall cue: Italy’s Paris gold → Paola Egonu. Paris 2024 awards report

10. Earvin Ngapeth — France

Ngapeth helped France win consecutive Olympic titles at Tokyo and Paris, earning the MVP award at both tournaments.

The outside hitter is a natural companion to Egonu when recalling the two Paris 2024 MVPs. Attach the repeat achievement to Earvin Ngapeth: France repeated as champion, and he repeated as MVP.

Recall cue: France → repeat gold, repeat MVP → Ngapeth. Paris 2024 awards report

11. Wilfredo Leon — Poland; Born in Cuba

Cuban-born Leon represents Poland. He helped Poland win the 2025 Volleyball Nations League and earned a place among the competition’s best outside hitters, scoring 16 points in the gold-medal match.

Keep birthplace and national team separate in the cue. Cuban-born, Polish team is more specific to this entry than either country on its own.

Recall cue: Cuban-born, Polish team → Wilfredo Leon. VNL 2025 Dream Team report

12. Gabi — Brazil

Gabriela “Gabi” Guimarães was selected as one of the best outside hitters at Paris 2024, where Brazil won bronze.

Keep her distinct from Giba: they are different Brazilian players, not alternate spellings. Link each short name to its longer name rather than relying on the same four letters in a different order.

Recall cue: Gabi → Gabriela; Giba → Gilberto. Paris 2024 awards report

Practise Six Names Before the Full Shortlist

For a smaller first round, hide the names and try these six cues: Misty’s partner, court–court–sand, Iron Hammer, Brazil’s 2004 MVP, Italy’s Paris MVP and France’s repeat MVP.

Then work through the three groups: the beach pair, the indoor legends and the recent-era stars. If one cue stalls, move to another, then check the missing name. Use the full names shown in the list, except for the established short names Giba and Gabi.

Once you can retrieve the names from their cues, try them in the timed famous-person recall game.