The argument to decide the top volleyball players of all time is subjective. Volleyball is a game of agility, attention, and coordination. Thus, allowing the players to develop their distinct identities and shine in their custom volleyball jerseys. The legendary players create their signature style through their creativity to become synonyms with their custom volleyball jerseys.
Although no player in volleyball succeeds alone. But their tournament odds and number of wins and awards decide the top rankers. There are many different stances on deciding the rank of the top volleyball players of all time.
This ranking will throw light on the significant accomplishments these legendary volleyball players have secured in their custom volleyball jerseys and managed to stay at the top of the numbers. Despite the new challenges always waiting ahead of them, they managed to turn the flow of the game through their unique creativity and skills. Here are the top 10 volleyball players of all time.
1. Karch Kiraly
Karch Kiraly is an American volleyball player, coach, and announcer. He is undoubtedly one of the best volleyball players, if not the best in history. His list of achievements in volleyball outweighs other players. Karch is the only volleyball player to win the gold in both indoor and beach volleyball. Also, he is the winner of the volleyball triple crown. He has the gold of the Olympics, World Cup, and World championship, back-to-back, under his name.
After his retirement, Kiraly is the head coach of the United States Women’s National Volleyball team. Even though he doesn’t have any coaching experience, his playing experience was phenomenal. He led his team toward their first gold medal in 2020.
2. Kerri Walsh Jennings
Kerri Walsh Jennings is an American Professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and one-time Olympic bronze medalist. It is hard to separate Kerry Jennings from her teammate May-Treanor, especially when the duo is named “the greatest beach volleyball team of all time”. However, there are still a few things that make her beat her partner on the records.
Kerri Jennings is the most awarded player of beach volleyball to date. She has 135 international and domestic victories in her career. In addition, she also has three straight FIVB world championships under her name. The “six feet sunshine” Kerry Jennings is indeed one of the greatest volleyball legends.
3. Misty May Treanor
May-Treanor is a retired American Professional Beach Volleyball player. She is the three times Olympic gold winner. Also, May-Treanor was the first woman to win 112 tournaments in both, domestic and international competitions. The legendary player has a record of winning 19 straight tournaments. However, just like Walsh Jennings her most notable achievements also come from their incredible partnership. She retired from competitive play after winning the Summer Olympic gold medal together with Walsh Jennings in 2012. The star player is instated in the volleyball hall of fame in 2016.
4. Regla Torres
Regla Torres is the natural talent. She is athletic, agile, and one of the most incredible middle-blockers in history. Torres dedicated her entire life to volleyball since she was eight. She joined Cuba’s National team at the record-breaking age of 14.
Regla Torres is one of the most dominating star players in women’s volleyball. The triple Olympic Champion is named the “Best Female Player of the 20th Century” by the FIVB, the international sports federation. In addition, she is the youngest player in history to win the gold in volleyball at the mere age of 17. Regla Torres was inducted into the volleyball hall of fame together with Karch Kiraly in 2001.
5. Giba
Gilberto Amaury de Godoy Filho popular as Giba is one of the best, if not the best wing spikers in the world. The former Brazilian volleyball professional was famous for his shocking speed, incredible physical skills, and reliable leadership. He made the national Brazil volleyball team unbeatable in the 2000s. He has a long list of victories, awards, and achievements under his name. Also, he is three Olympic medals, two silver, and one gold. Also, Giba is a three-time world championship winner. Furthermore, he also has a record of being three times MVP in the World Championship under his name. The star player is the pride of Brazil who has written his legacy in golden words in the history of volleyball.
6. Lorenzo Bernardi
Lorenzo Bernardi is a former professional volleyball player and current Italian volleyball head coach. The legendary player is the silver medalist of the Olympic games Atlanta 1996. Also, he won the world championship and European championship twice in his career. Lorenzo has a record of being the best player of the 1994 World Championship and 1995 European Championship under his name. Not only that, in 2001 he was named “Volleyball Player of the Century” alongside Karch Kiraly 2001.
7. Mireya Luis
Mireya Luis, the Cuban volleyball player is widely recognized for her incredible spiking abilities. Her 36-inch vertical leap leaves the opponents and crowd altogether in amazement. Although she is 5 foot 10 inches tall, which is not taller for volleyball players, her remarkable skills made her an impressive volleyball player.
In addition, she has three Olympic gold medals. Also, Luis is the winner of World-cup MVP award three times. Not only that, but Mireya Luis also earned two world championships and won silver in another. One of the most notable achievements of Mireya Luis with the Cuba National team is winning a total of three FIVB World cups.
8. Lang Ping
Lang Ping began her indoor volleyball career at the age of 18 with the Chinese National volleyball team. She is the first woman head coach of the Chinese National Volleyball team. She is also the former head coach of the United States National Volleyball team.
The “iron hammer” Lang Ping was her team’s outside hitter. She has two Olympic gold medals, one World Championship silver medal, and one Asian games bronze medal under her name. In addition, Lang Ping is also a triple crown winner like Karch Kiraly.
9. Renan Dal Zotto
The legendary Renan Dal Zotto is a former Brazilian volleyball player who played three editions of the summer Olympics. Currently, he is the head coach of the Brazil men’s national volleyball team.
Renan’s 13 years of career are full of success. The hall of Famer, Renan Dal Zotto won many awards and matched in his peak career. However, the most notable ones are his silver medal in the 1984 Olympics and World Championships, and his gold medal at the PAN American games in 1983.
10. Sinjin Smith
Christopher St. John Smith, more commonly known as Sinjin Smith is a professional beach volleyball player. The king of the beach, Sinjin Smith played a total of 416 tournaments in his career. He is the second man to win the most beach volleyball matches, just behind Karch Kiraly, with a total of 139 victories. Sinjin Smith is also the first volleyball player to reach the milestone of 100 wins. The most notable success of the hall of Famer player is his five international championship wins from the Association of volleyball professionals.
