Paula Weishoff 3-time Olympian and Olympic MVP, American Middle Hitter

Paula Weishoff, an unforgettable name in the 80’s and 90’s, 3-time Olympic middle blocker and I were teammates in Italy in the Italian Div I championship finals 

Paula Weishoff, an unforgettable name in the minds of long time USA volleyball fans throughout the 80’s and 90’s was a world class middle blocker and middle hitter and one of the youngest American players to earn the first Olympic silver medal awarded to the women's team at the Los Angeles Olympiade in 1984. 

Paula Weishoff stands out among all the female volleyball players of her era.

With her strong ball control skills, aggressiveness on the court and incredible blocking technique, the Volleyball Hall of Famer played a major role in the USA Volleyball's Bronze medal win in the 1992 Olympics. 

Weishoff played for the University of Southern California for a year in 1980 where she helped the team reach and lift the National Championship title, finishing the season with a record of 48-4.

She left the team in 1981 to focus on professional volleyball.

• Outstanding Collegiate Player of the Year of ‘80
• US Olympic Festival Silver Medalist
• All American Junior Player in 1980
• Most Valuable Player in 1980

Paula Weishoff participated in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California where the USA volleyball team received the Silver medal. Weishoff was named Team USA Most Valuable Player.

She also played in the 1992 Olympics where the US team earned a Bronze medal. Paula was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

She played in her last Olympic tournament as a member of the 7^th placed USA Team in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

• 1984 Olympic Games (Silver)

• 1992 Olympic Games (Bronze)

• 1996 Olympic Games (7^th place)

Watch as Paula (#1 jersey in dark blue) and Team USA take on Peru in the semifinals of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics

• 1981 NORCECA Championship (Gold)
• 1982 World Championships(Gold)
• 1983 NORCECA Championship (Gold)
• 1983 Pan American Games (Silver)
• 1986 Goodwill Games (Bronze)
• 1986 World Championship Games
• 1991 NORCECA Championship (Silver)
• 1991 Montreux Volley Masters (Silver)
• 1991 Volleyball World Cup 
• 1992 FIVB Super Four Championship (Bronze)
• 1995 World Grand Prix (Gold)

Between international competitions with the US National team, Weishoff played in Italy for several different Italian A-1 first division teams for nine seasons.

She also played professionally for several years in Brazil for Leiche Moca before departing for Japan to play for Daiei.

• Two time MVP winner in the Italian League between 1984 to 1993

• 1991 Best Player Award in the Italian League

• 1994 Brazil League Finalist

• 1995 Japanese Professional League Champions with Daiei

• 1995 Japanese Professional League MVP

Watch the "power of Paula" playing professionally in the Japan pro league. 

• Paula was inducted into the USA Hall of Fame in 1998.  
• She was inducted into the USC Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2017.
• She retired from professional volleyball in 1997 and started her coaching career.
• In assistant and head coach roles, she led several teams to national glory including her alma mater, the University of Southern California, the University of California Irvine’s Women’s Volleyball team and Concordia University.

Assistant coach US Olympic team for London Olympics...listen in as Paula is interviewed after a Team USA scrimmage at her alma mater, USC. 

Quotes

“Effort and attitude are my two biggest things.” 

“From there you can make progress. The rest is up to me and so we’re going to work on this and that technique. That’s the piece of the puzzle I like. My style of coaching is I don’t put people into a system, I create systems based on the talent I have.”

1. Improve Your Volleyball Performance with Vegas VB Coach April Chapple
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2. Famous Professional Volleyball Player Profile Quick Facts On Famous Female Players
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3. Paula Weishoff 3-time Olympian and Olympic MVP, American Middle Hitter

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