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Tara Cross Battle A Most Prolific Elite Volleyball Hitter of the 90s

Winner of the Flo Hyman All-Time Great Player award, Tara Cross made her international debut in the 1990 Goodwill Games and played for team USA for many years.

Tara Cross Battle was one of the most prolific elite volleyball players of the 90s.

Volleyball Player Profile Tara Cross Battle

Cross-Battle had a stellar high school career having bagged two California state championships in her junior and senior year.

Tara was named to the Volleyball Monthly Magazine Fab 50.

Tara Cross Battle
College Volleyball Accomplishments

Her high school record played a major role in her accepting a scholarship to play at Long Beach State University where she was mentored by two former Olympic champions Rita Crockett and Debbie Green.

One of the most decorated collegiate players of all time Tara is one of twelve players named to the NCAA All-Decade Volleyball team.

Two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division 1 Player of the Year
Four-time AVCA All-American selection

NCAA Division I Championship Title - led Long Beach State to its first championship title ever
Holds the record for the second highest service aces
Holds the record for the second highest kills by a single player in a season
Set the record for the third highest block assists.

Member of the NCAA 1980’s All-Decade team
1989 Honda Award for Outstanding Collegiate Woman Athlete
Holds the record for the second highest service aces
Holds the record for the second highest kills by a single player in a season
Set the record for the third highest block assists.

Tara Cross Battle
Olympic Volleyball Player

Tara Cross-Battle’s first Olympic appearance was in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics and went on to play in three other Olympics.

1992 Summer Olympics (Bronze)
1996 Summer Olympics (7^th place)
2000 Summer Olympics (4^th place)
2004 Summer Olympics (5^th place)

Tara Cross Battle
USA Volleyball Player

1990 Goodwill Games

1990 World Championship (Bronze)

1991 NORCECA Continental Championship (Silver)

1991 World Cup

1992 FIVB Super Four (Bronze)

1993 NORCECA Continental Championship (Silver)

1993 World Grand Prix

1993 FIVB Grand Champions Cup

1994 World Grand Prix

1994 World Championship

1995 Pan-America Games (Silver)

1995 Canada Cup (Gold)

1995 World Cup

2001 NORCECA Continental Championship (Gold)

2001 World Grand Prix (Gold)

2002 World Championship (Silver)

2002 World Grand Prix (6^th Place)

2003 World Grand Prix (Bronze)

2003 World Cup (Bronze)

2004 World Grand Prix (Bronze)

Tara Cross Battle
Professional Volleyball Player

Cross-Battle played professionally in the Italian Club League for Ancona from 1992 to 1995 before leaving for Brazil from 1996 to 2001 where she played for three clubs and later back in Italy from 2001 to 2003.

1996-1997 Brazilian Superliga title

1998 South American Club Championship

1999-2000 Brazilian Superliga title

2001-2002 Italian National Volleyball League

Five Fun Facts about Tara

Tara Cross-Battle was the first American, male or female, volleyball player to ever participate in four Olympic tournaments.

She was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2014.

At Long Beach State, Tara set a kills record of 779 kills with a .353 hitting average which was recorded as the second highest ever by an NCAA player in a single season

Voted MVP and Best Scorer during the 1995 World Grand Prix

Named to the 1990 All-Time Fab 50 Elite team by Volleyball Monthly Magazine

Sources

Washington Post

Wikipedia

Volleyhall

Team USA - All Time Great Players

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April Chapple is an elite private volleyball trainer, former USA National Team member, and University of Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee who has coached in Las Vegas for 15+ years, training hundreds of athletes and helping numerous players reach college volleyball, including Division I standouts.

She's also the head coach for girls and boys 18s at Squad VBC and offers coaches consulting on technical teaching and player development. Connect with April on LinkedIn or at ImproveYourVolley.com, where her eye for overlooked talent sets her apart.

From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Honored At UTK Champions Weekend

Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.

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Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee, Coach April Chapple is

the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
former USA National team member
one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist

April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match

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Congratulations to my seven Boys-18s Vegas Volley club players who played in two state championship finals yesterday, the 3A and 5A State champinship finals at Sunrise Mountain High School.