Volleyball debuted at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, played again in 1968, but then dropped, only to return at the 1984 Olympics. Since then, it has been a part of every Olympic schedule. The international body overseeing volleyball is the 1947 established Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The same body governs beach volleyball too.
Interestingly, volleyball and basketball both originated in Springfield, Massachusetts. William Morgan invented volleyball in 1895, four years after James Naismith invented basketball in 1891. Morgan named the sport "Minionette" and was the director of the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
The popularity of the sport grew so much that people in Southern California began to play it on beaches, and so beach volleyball, a new sport, branched out of it, making its own place in the Olympics by the 1990s.
Read More : Paris Olympics 2024 Stadium
The Year-by-Year List of Olympic Medalists of Team USA in Volleyball
The Soviet Union leads the volleyball medal table with 12, including seven golds. The USA and Brazil are next, with eleven medals each and four and five golds, respectively.
The year-by-year list of Team USA’s volleyball Olympic medalists is as follows:
| Year | Event | Name | Medal |
| 1984 | Volleyball, Men | Dusty Dvorak, Dave Saunders, Steve Salmons, Paul Sunderland, Rich Duwelius, Steve Timmons, Craig Buck, Marc Waldie, Chris Marlowe, Aldis Berzins, Pat Powers, Karch Kiraly | Gold |
| 1984 | Volleyball, Women | Paula Weishoff, Sue Woodstra, Rita Crockett, Laurie Flachmeier, Carolyn Becker, Flo Hyman, Rose Magers, Julie Vollertsen, Debbie Green, Kim Ruddins, Jeanne Beauprey, Linda Chisholm | Silver |
| 1988 | Volleyball, Men | Troy Tanner, Dave Saunders, Jon Root, Bob Ctvrtlik, Doug Partie, Steve Timmons, Craig Buck, Scott Fortune, Ricci Luyties, Jeff Stork, Eric Sato, Karch Kiraly | Gold |
| 1992 | Volleyball, Men | Nick Becker, Carlos Briceno, Bob Ctvrtlik, Scott Fortune, Dan Greenbaum, Brent Hilliard, Bryan Ivie, Doug Partie, Bob Samuelson, Eric Sato, Jeff Stork, Steve Timmons | Bronze |
| 1992 | Volleyball, Women | Janet Cobbs, Tara Cross-Battle, Lori Endicott, Caren Kemner, Ruth Lawanson, Tammy Liley, Elaina Oden, Kim Oden, Teee Sanders, Liane Sato, Paula Weishoff, Yoko Zetterlund | Bronze |
| 2008 | Volleyball, Men | Scott Touzinsky, Clay Stanley, Riley Salmon, Sean Rooney, Reid Priddy, Ryan Millar, David Lee, Rich Lambourne, Tom Hoff, Kevin Hansen, Gabe Gardner, Lloy Ball | Gold |
| 2008 | Volleyball, Women | Kim Willoughby, Logan Tom, Stacy Sykora, Danielle Scott-Arruda, Ogonna Nnamani, Jennifer Joines, Tayyiba Haneef, Kim Glass, Nicole Davis, Heather Bown, Lindsey Berg, Robyn Ah Mow-Santos | Silver |
| 2012 | Volleyball, Women | Danielle Scott-Arruda, Tayyiba Haneef-Park, Lindsey Berg, Tamari Miyashiro, Nicole Davis, Jordan Larson, Megan Hodge, Christa Harmotto, Logan Tom, Foluke Akinradewo, Courtney Thompson, Destinee Hooker | Silver |
| 2016 | Volleyball, Men | Reid Priddy, David Lee, Matt Anderson, David Smith, Aaron Russell, Erik Shoji, Kawika Shoji, Max Holt, Micah Christenson, Murphy Troy, Taylor Sander, Tom Jaeschke | Bronze |
| 2016 | Volleyball, Women | Courtney Thompson, Jordan Larson-Burbach, Foluke Akinradewo, Christa Dietzen, Alisha Glass, Carli Lloyd, Karsta Lowe, Kayla Banwarth, Kelly Murphy, Kelsey Robinson, Kim Hill, Rachael Adams | Bronze |
| 2020 | Volleyball, Women | Micha Hancock, Jordyn Poulter, Justine Wong-Orantes, Jordan Larson-Burbach, Andrea Drews, Jordan Thompson, Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Kim Hill, Foluke Akinradewo, Haleigh Washington, Kelsey Robinson, Chiaka Ogbogu | Gold |
Read More : Olympic Gold Medal
FAQ's On Olympic Medalists in Volleyball
A. The dates of the volleyball competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are set for July 27 to August 11.
A. Yes, volleyball has been an Olympic sport since the 1964 Summer Olympics.
A. Qualifying for Paris 2024, the top two teams in every pool; further, the top five teams in the FIVB WR are chosen to fill the remaining five spots per gender.
A. There have been 12 participating nations in the men's and women's indoor events since 1996.
A. Women's volleyball is not a separate sport but rather a division of volleyball, and yes, it has been played at the Olympics since 1964.
