Female Beach Volleyball - Holly McPeak, American beach volleyball player

Holly McPeak (born May 15, 1969 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) is a retired American beach volleyball player.

A three-time Olympian, McPeak has 72 career beach volleyball titles and $1.4 million USD in career earnings, which are third (behind Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh) and second (behind May-Treanor) respectively of any woman in the history of professional beach volleyball. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics with partner Elaine Youngs. McPeak, at 5 feet 7 inches, is considered short for beach volleyball, which makes her success all the more remarkable.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Kerri Pottharst, Australian professional beach volleyball player

 

Kerri Ann Pottharst OAM (born 25 June 1965) is an Australian professional beach volleyball player and Olympic gold medallist.

Pottharst was born in Adelaide, South Australia and currently resides in Sydney. In addition to her volleyball commitments, Pottharst is the face of "beach2xl", a corporate team building program, and does motivational speaking.

 

 

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Maria Antonelli, Brazilian beach volleyball player

Maria Elisa Mendes Ticon Antonelli (born February 25, 1984) is a beach volleyball player from Brazil.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Rachel Wacholder, American beach volleyball player

Rachel (Wacholder) Scott (born June 15, 1975 in Laguna Beach, California) is a model and beach volleyball player. She has eight beach volleyball championships with three partners, most recently with Tyra Turner in San Diego on the AVP Tour on August 3, 2008.

In 2006, she was the No. 2 seed on the AVP tour along with her partner, beach volleyball veteran Elaine Youngs. During the 2005 AVP tour, Scott and Youngs dealt top-seeded Kerri Walsh and Misty May a surprise defeat at the Huntington Beach Open, halting the two-time Olympic Gold Medal winning team's 50 match win streak. The duo would go on to win five events together, all on the AVP Tour with three coming in 2005 and two in 2006.

Her exposure as a star player increased dramatically as a result and is considered one of only a handful of players capable of dealing the Kerri Walsh-Misty May combination a defeat. However, in August 2006, Scott and Youngs split just before the biggest American tournament of the year, the 2006 Manhattan Beach Open. No official reason for the split has been given. Scott paired with Jen (Kessy) Boss defeated Youngs and new partner Nicole Branagh in their first meeting at the Coney Island Open. Scott has an increasing support base from AVP fans.

At the end of the 2005 season, she was voted the AVP's best defensive player and most improved player of the year. She also won the most improved player in 2000 on the BVA Tour.

Scott won two FIVB Grand Slam events in 2004, her first two career victories, alongside Olympic gold medal winner Walsh, filling in for an injured May-Treanor.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Marleen van Iersel, Dutch professional beach volleyball player

Marleen van Iersel (born January 7, 1988) is a Dutch professional beach volleyball player born in Breda.

She played indoor volleyball for a few years before she switched onto the beach in 2001. The first two years she played just for fun. In 2003 she was selected by the Sourcy Volleybalschool. Marleen impressed her coaches with her ambition, training hours and determination. Although her team mate in 2003 was Roos van der Hoeven with whom she achieved some decent results she qualified and participated for the Pattaya u18 World Championships with Jennifer Waninge. In Thailand they reached the 5th position. Then in 2004 she teamed up with Arjanne Stevens, but qualified for the same u18 World Championships, this time in Termoli with Margo Wiltens, reaching the semi finals and finishing in 4th position. Later that year she and Stevens qualified for the u21 World Championships in Porto Santo where they became 4th as well. When teaming up with Marloes Wesselink in 2005 their skills improved fast, which resulted in a successful season.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Natalie Cook, Australian professional beach volleyball player

Natalie Louise cook OAM (born 19 January 1975) is an Australian professional beach volleyball player and Olympic gold medallist.

Cook was born in Townsville, Queensland. She was the dux of her school, Corinda State High (located in the western suburbs of Brisbane). She enrolled in pre-medicine college courses, and also took up volleyball, captaining the Australian Indoor Junior Team in 1992. In 1993 she began playing beach volleyball. In 1994 she went professional and gave up her pursuit of a medical degree.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Tamsin Hinchley, Australian volleyball player

Tamsin Hinchley (née Barnett) (born 10 March 1980 in Adelaide) is an Australian volleyball player. Barnett was on the Australian indoor squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Barnett partnered with Natalie Cook in beach volleyball. Barnett and Cook also partner on the Swatch FIVB World Tour, and in 2007 Barnett was named the World Tour's most improved player.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Talita Antunes, Brazilian beach volleyball player

Talita Antunes da Rocha (born August 29, 1982) is a Brazilian beach volleyball player. She was FIVB rookie of the year in 2005.

Born in Aquidauana, Antunes caught the attention of Olympic Champion Jacqueline Silva at the age of 19. From the first time they played together, in Maceió in 2001, Jackie was impressed with Antunes' style and invited the young player to partner with her in 2002. The pair won the South American Championship in La Paz, Bolívia 2002.

After Silva was injured, Talita continued the 2002 season with Renata Ribeiro as her new partner. They won the championships in the Challenger Banco do Brasil in Natal and they were runners-up in the games held in Rio and Recife. In 2003, she was again champion in Goiânia do Circuito Banco do Brasil, this time with a new partner, Tais Jesus. She also partnered with Giseli Gavio on the Italian Circuit, ranking fourth overall. In 2005, she resumed her partnership with Ribiero and was voted FIVB World Tour rookie of the year. Their partnership won them several competitions and they became one of the top ranking teams in the world tour. In 2008, Talita was crowned Queen of the Beach in Brazil. In that same year, Talita and Renata represented Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They finished fourth after losing the hard-fought Bronze Medal Match to the Chinese Team.

In 2009, Talita forged a new partnership with Maria Elisa Antonelli. They won gold in the 2009 Swatch FIVB World Tour in China, South Korea, Switzerland, and Norway. They also won the 2009 World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. Their strong partnership landed Talita and Maria 1st overall ranking in the 2009 Brazilian Beach Volleyball Circuit and 2nd overall ranking in the 2009 World Ranking.

 

Female Beach Volleyball - Larissa França, female beach volleyball player from Brazil

Larissa França (born April 14, 1982 in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim) is a female beach volleyball player from Brazil, who won the bronze medal in the women's beach team competition at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, partnering Ana Richa.