Haleigh Washington

Haleigh Meridian Washington (born September 22, 1995) is an American volleyball player of the United States women's national volleyball team. Washington was an All-American middle blocker for the Penn State women's volleyball team, where she helped lead the team to the 2014 NCAA national championship. Washington won gold with the national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.[1]

Haleigh Washington
Personal information
Full nameHaleigh Meridian Washington
NationalityAmerican
Born (1995-09-22) September 22, 1995
Denver, Colorado
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Spike307 cm (121 in)
Block295 cm (116 in)
College / UniversityPennsylvania State University
Volleyball information
PositionMiddle Blocker
Current clubItaly Savino Del Bene Scandicci
Number22 (national team)
Career
YearsTeams
2014–2017United States Penn State
2017–2018Italy Olimpia Ravenna (it)
2018–2019Italy Volley Millenium Brescia
2019–2020Italy Busto Arsizio Volley
2020–2022Italy Igor Gorgonzola Novara
2022–Italy Savino Del Bene Scandicci
National team
2018–United States United States
Honours
Women’s Volleyball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 TokyoTeam
FIVB World Cup
Silver medal – second place2019 JapanTeam
FIVB Nations League
Gold medal – first place2019 NanjingTeam
Gold medal – first place2021 RiminiTeam
Pan-American Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Santo Domingo
NORCECA
Silver medal – second place 2019 San Juan

Personal life

Washington was born in Denver, Colorado to parents Danielle and Alecs. In her early athletic days, she showed talent in basketball, but ended up being more passionate about volleyball while on the seventh-grade team. She would attend Clear Creek High School, where she began being recruited by college volleyball coaches in her freshman year.[2] Her family relocated to Colorado Springs before her junior year, and she finished her high school career at Doherty High School, where she holds a state record after putting down 48 kills in a match with her high school team.

She earned consecutive Colorado Volleyball Player of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013 and led her team to a state championship title in 2012, and was the 2013 Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year. She was considered to be the nation's top high school recruit in her class, and ultimately decided to play collegiate volleyball at Penn State.[3]

Washington has one brother, Kaden, and one sister, Leilani. In 2020, Washington came out as bisexual.[4]

Penn State

Washington was a three-time first-team All-American and helped lead the team to the 2014 NCAA National Title as a freshman, as well as an appearance in the 2017 Final Four in her senior season. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after hitting .463 for the season.[5][6] In her senior season, she earned the 2017 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and led the nation with a .503 hitting percentage, while putting down 3.03 kills per set on the season.[7] She earned AVCA All-American honors three times and was selected as a Honda Sports Award nominee after her senior season.[8]

Washington credited Penn State's head coach Russ Rose for acclimating her to the grueling demands and expectations of competing on the international stage.[9]

Professional clubs

Washington has played in multiple Italian Series A1 professional volleyball teams, including Igor Gorgonzola Novara from 2020–2022.[10] In the 2022–2023 season, plays with Savino Del Bene Scandicci.[11]

United States national team

With Team USA, she started all three matches of the 2019 Tokyo Qualification Tournament in which Team USA earned its bid into the 2020 Olympic Games.

She was named to the 18-player roster of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League. In her first match as the starting middle, had nine kills and a block against Brazil.[12]

On June 7, 2021, US National Team head coach Karch Kiraly announced she would be part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[13] Washington helped lead her team to the USA's first ever gold medal and was named Best Middle Blocker of the tournament.[14]

Awards and honors

International

Professional clubs

College

See also

References
  1. "Volleyball WASHINGTON Haleigh". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  2. "AVCA Diversity Awards" (PDF).
  3. "Tawa's great memories: Re-visiting the USA Olympians when they played in club and HS". 3 August 2021.
  4. "Bi Pride Day salute to Olympic volleyball champ Haleigh Washington". 23 September 2021.
  5. Smith, Lindsey (2017-11-28). "Former Doherty standout Haleigh Washington named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  6. "Haleigh Washington - Women's Volleyball". Penn State Athletics. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  7. "Women's volleyball lands six on AVCA All-America teams | Penn State University".
  8. "Lee, Washington named 2018 Honda Sport Award Nominees for Volleyball". Penn State Athletics. 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  9. "Penn State paved way to international volleyball success". 17 July 2019.
  10. "Haleigh Washington » clubs".
  11. "Volleyball – Yvon Belien and Haleigh Washington are the new power plants of Savino Del Bene Scandicci". news.italy-24.com. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  12. "Recaps and highlights as USA women start VNL with wins over DR, Canada, Brazil". 28 May 2021.
  13. "USAV Announces U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team". USA Volleyball. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  14. "Haleigh Washington". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
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