Jordyn Ashley Poulter (born July 31, 1997) is an American volleyball player. As a member of the United States women's national volleyball team, she has earned several international titles, including the program's first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Poulter played collegiate volleyball with the University of Illinois Fighting Illini from 2015 to 2018.
| Jordyn Poulter | |||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||
| Full name | Jordyn Ashley Poulter[1] | ||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||
| Born | July 31, 1997 Naperville, Illinois | ||||||||
| Hometown | Aurora, Colorado | ||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||||||||
| Spike | 313 cm (123 in) | ||||||||
| Block | 305 cm (120 in) | ||||||||
| College / University | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | ||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||
| Position | Setter | ||||||||
| Current club |  LOVB Salt Lake City | ||||||||
| Number | 2 (national team) | ||||||||
| Career | |||||||||
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Honours | |||||||||
Early life
editPoulter was born in Naperville, Illinois[2] and grew up in Aurora, Colorado, attending Eaglecrest High School.[3] She was the overall No. 3 nationally (and top setter) ranked recruit coming out of high school and won several state and national awards, including the Andi Collins award for the best setter in the country.[3] She totaled 2,529 assists, 716 kills, 664 digs, 385 blocks and 208 aces over 101 high school matches.[3]
Career
editUniversity of Illinois
editPoulter was recruited by several top college volleyball teams, with her final two choices being UCLA and Illinois, ultimately committing to Illinois between her freshman and sophomore years in high school.[4] She was a two-time All-American and was named the Big Ten Setter of the Year during her senior season, and led Illinois to a Final Four appearance.[3]
Professional and US National Team
editPoulter began training with the senior US National Team in the summer of 2018, while she was still in college. She was part of the team that won a gold medal in the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League tournament, as well as the 2019 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup. In May 2021, she was named to the 18-player roster for the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League.[5] Poulter started the majority of the matches, and USA won the gold medal for the third straight year after defeating Brazil. She was named "Best Setter" at the conclusion of the tournament.[6]
On June 7, 2021, US National Team head coach Karch Kiraly announced Poulter would be part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[7] After starting all matches, Poulter suffered an ankle injury during the final pool play match against Italy.[8] The injury forced her to miss the quarterfinals versus Dominican Republic; however, USA was able to win the match after fellow setter Micha Hancock came in as a substitute. Poulter successfully returned to lead her team to victories in the semifinals and eventually led Team USA to their first-ever gold medal in women's indoor competition. For her efforts, she was named as the "Best Setter" of the Olympics.[9]
Poulter signed with Igor Gorgonzola Novara for the 2022–2023 professional season as the starting setter, but suffered season-ending ACL, MCL and meniscus injuries in her knee during a match in December 2022.[10] She returned to play with the US National Team at the 2024 Volleyball Women's Nations League and was named to the Olympic roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[11]
Poulter is a founding athlete for League One Volleyball (LOVB), a new professional league in the US. She will play for the league's Salt Lake City team in its inaugural season.[12]
Individual awards
editHigh school
edit- 2011-2014 All-Centennial Conference First Team
- 2012-2014 Denver Post All-Colorado Volleyball Team
- 2014 CHSAA Class 5A All-State Player of the Year
- 2014 Andi Collins Award
- 2014 MaxPreps All-America
- 2014 PrepVolleyball.com All-America
- 2014 Under Armour First-Team All-America
Collegiate
edit- 2015 Illinois Female Newcomer of the Year
- 2015 Big Ten All-Freshman Team
- 2016 AVCA Honorable Mention All-America
- 2016 AVCA All-Northeast Region
- 2016 All-Big Ten
- 2017 AVCA Third Team All-America
- 2017 All-Big Ten
- 2018 Honda Sports Award Nominee
- 2018 AVCA First Team All-America
- 2018 Big Ten Setter of the Year (co)
- 2018 AVCA Northeast Region Player of the Year
- 2018 All-Big Ten
- 2018 NCAA Champaign Regional Most Outstanding Player
- 2018 University of Illinois Athletics Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year
International
edit- 2013 World Championships U18 – Best Setter[3]
- 2013 USA Girls Youth National Team, FIVB U18 World Championships – Best Setter[3]
- 2014 NORCECA Championship U20 Women's Junior NORCECA Championship – Best Setter[3]
- 2021 Nations League "Best Setter"[6]
- 2020 Summer Olympics – "Best Setter"[9]
Personal life
editIn May 2022, Poulter revealed her gold medal from the 2020 Summer Olympics was stolen out of her vehicle in Anaheim, California. The thief was arrested in early June, and the medal was recovered on June 27, 2022 after the owners of an Anaheim barbershop discovered it on their property and contacted the Anaheim Police Department.[13][14][15]
References
edit- ^ "Jordyn Poulter". Olympedia. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "The US women's volleyball team is into the semifinals. And if they win that elusive gold, it will be because of a 'strong' Illini bond". Chicago Tribune. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "University of Illinois Roster - Jordyn Poulter". FightingIllini.com. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Volleyball: Eaglecrest's Jordyn Poulter sets her future at Illinois". Sentinel Colorado. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Kiraly announces 18 USA Volleyball women on FIVB VNL Roster". Volleyball Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "Jordyn Poulter and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley in the VNL Dream Team". VolleyPro Agency. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "USAV Announces U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team". USA Volleyball. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Mullin, Erica. "US Women's Volleyball Overcomes Jordyn Poulter Injury to Beat Italy". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Reiner, Olivia. "Olympics final update: Poulter, Bartsch-Hackley, Virtue win gold with Team USA volleyball". The Daily Illini. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Reiner, Olivia. "Olympics final update: Poulter, Bartsch-Hackley, Virtue win gold with Team USA volleyball". Volleyball Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ "Jordyn Poulter Named to U.S. Women's Volleyball Olympic Team". University of Illinois Athletics. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ Walker, Sean; Dec. 5, KSL com | Posted-; A.m, 2023 at 9:00. "A first look at Salt Lake's pro volleyball team that will begin play in 2024". www.ksl.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Stolen Olympic Gold Medal Located". City of Anaheim Official Website. June 29, 2022. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ "Stolen Olympic gold medal found in Southern California". Associated Press. June 29, 2022. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ Guilfoil, Kyla. "California man charged in Olympic gold medal theft from US volleyball star". ABC news. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
External links
edit- Jordyn Poulter at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Jordyn Poulter at WorldofVolley
- Jordyn Poulter at Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile (in Italian)
- Jordyn Poulter at Olympics.com
- Jordyn Poulter at Olympedia
