The History of the U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Teams

Volleyball made its debut as a medal sport at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, but the American men played it as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Paris Games. As of 2008, the U.S. women's team has won the silver medal twice and the bronze once. American women have won two gold medals and a bronze in beach volleyball.

  1. Early Years

    • The International Olympic Committee (IOC) watched a volleyball tournament in 1957 and decided to introduce the sport at the 1964 Summer Games in a round-robin format. The American women's team finished in fifth place in 1964 and eighth in 1968. The IOC changed the format to its current form of two phases and a final round in 1972, but the American women's team failed to qualify for both the 1972 and 1976 games.

    1984 and Beyond

    • American athletes, including the volleyball team, boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow. Four years later, the Eastern Bloc boycotted the Los Angeles games. With the traditional Eastern Bloc powerhouses absent, the American women won their first volleyball medal, coming in second. They suffered through another medal drought until winning bronze in 1992. They lost to Brazil in 2008 to take their second silver medal.

    Beach Volleyball

    • The IOC introduced beach volleyball as a medal sport at the 1996 games in Atlanta. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won gold in both 2004 and 2008 while Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs won bronze in 2004.