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Christa Harmotto

Personal information

Full name

Christa Deanne Harmotto

Born

October 12, 1986 (age 38)
Sewickley, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Height

6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

Weight

174 lb (79 kg)

Spike

124 in (315 cm)

Block

121 in (307 cm)

College(s)

Penn State University

Volleyball information

Position

Middle blocker

Current club

Fenerbahce Grundig

Number

Career

Years	Teams
2009–2010 2010–2013 2013–2014 2015–2016	Guangdong Evergrande LIU•JO Volley Modena Eczacıbaşı VitrA Fenerbahce Grundig

National team

2009–2016

USA

Medal record

Women's volleyball

Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Silver	2012 London	Team
Bronze	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Team
World Championship
Gold	2014 Italy	Team
World Cup
Bronze	2015 Japan	Team
World Grand Prix
Gold	2012 Ningbo	Team
Gold	2015 Omaha	Team
Silver	2016 Bangkok	Team
Pan American Cup
Bronze	2010 Rosarito & Tijuana	Team
Bronze	2011 Ciudad Juárez	Team

Christa Deanne Harmotto Dietzen, born on October 12, 1986, is a former professional volleyball player from the United States. She was a key player, known as a middle blocker, for the United States women's national volleyball team. Christa played college volleyball for the Penn State women's volleyball team. There, she helped her team win two national championships in a row in 2007 and 2008.

With the national team, Harmotto achieved great success. She won a gold medal at the 2014 World Championship. She also earned a silver medal at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Later, she won bronze medals at the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Christa Harmotto's Early Life and High School Volleyball
Christa's College Career at Penn State
Christa's National Team Career
Awards and Achievements
See also

Christa Harmotto's Early Life and High School Volleyball

Christa Harmotto was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. She went to Hopewell High School in Aliquippa. In high school, she played volleyball for three years and basketball for two years.

In 2004, during her senior year of high school, Christa was named the Pennsylvania State Gatorade Player of the Year. This award recognizes top athletes. She was also chosen as an All-American, meaning she was one of the best players in the country.

Christa was part of the 2004 USA Women's Junior National Team. This team won the NORCECA Championship in Winnipeg, Canada. She was also selected for the 2005 USA Junior National Team. This team competed in Turkey at the FIVB Under-20 World Championships.

During her junior year at Hopewell, she set a school record with 183 blocks. In her senior year (2004–05), she set another school record for hitting percentage at .595. She helped Hopewell High School become the number one team in Pennsylvania. Her team also had an amazing 59–0 record against other teams in the WPIAL league. Christa played club volleyball for Pittsburgh Renaissance, which qualified for the Junior Olympics. Many people thought Harmotto was one of the top 15 recruits for college volleyball in 2005.

Christa's College Career at Penn State

Christa Harmotto played as a middle hitter for Penn State. Her hits were very fast and hard for opponents to block. In 2007, she had a .492 hitting percentage. In 2008, she led the nation in hitting percentage for most of the season with a .486 percentage. She was also known as one of the best blockers in the country. She made 200 blocks in 2007 and 166 blocks in 2008.

Christa studied education in college. In 2008, she was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. This award recognizes athletes who are excellent in both sports and academics. She was also named Academic All-Big Ten in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Christa shared that her goals after Penn State were to play volleyball internationally and compete in the Olympics.

Freshman Year: 2005 Season Highlights

In her first year at Penn State, Christa set a new school record. She made 13 blocks in a four-game match against Southern California. She also led her team in blocks per game, with an average of 1.50. In 28 out of 29 matches, she recorded at least six kills.

Christa was on her way to becoming a top All-American player. However, she tore her ACL in the last home match of the Big Ten season. This injury meant she missed all the NCAA tournament matches. Even with the injury, she was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American for her strong performance during the regular season.

Sophomore Year: 2006 Season Comeback

After recovering from her injury, Harmotto had a great second year. She played in 111 out of 114 games for the Nittany Lions. She was first on the team in blocks per game (1.58). She was also second in hitting percentage (.405) and third in kills per game (2.85). Her average of 1.58 blocks per game is tied for 10th on Penn State's all-time single-season record list.

She achieved a career high of 17 kills with a .483 hitting percentage in a win against Minnesota. For this performance, she was named the conference player of the week. She helped Penn State reach the NCAA Regional Final.

Junior Year: 2007 National Championship Season

As a junior, Harmotto had one of the best performances in the country. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. She was also an AVCA First Team All-American. She was even nominated for the Honda Award for volleyball, which recognizes the top player in the country. Many considered her a top contender for the National Player of the Year.

She played in 121 of Penn State's 122 games and started all 36 matches. She finished the year with 375 kills and an amazing .492 hitting percentage. This percentage is among the top five in NCAA history. It also ranked first in her conference and second nationally. She made 200 blocks that year, averaging 1.65 blocks per game. This ranked fifth in the nation and second on her team. She matched her career high of 17 kills with no errors against Wisconsin. She helped her team achieve a perfect 20–0 record in the Big Ten and a 34–2 record overall.

In the NCAA tournament, she helped her team win the 2007 NCAA national championship against top-seeded Stanford. She was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. In the championship match, she had 14 kills and a .435 hitting percentage.

Senior Year: 2008 Back-to-Back Championship

Harmotto had another impressive senior year. She led the nation in hitting percentage from September until the end of the season. She finished the year with a .486 percentage and 275 total kills. She also had 166 blocks for the season. She finished third in the nation in blocks per set (1.47). Harmotto was again named an AVCA First Team All-American. She also earned her second Honda Award nomination.

She helped Penn State achieve their second straight perfect 20–0 Big Ten season. They did not lose a single set to any teams. In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, she was named to the NCAA University Park Regional All-Tournament Team. She helped her team reach the NCAA Final Four by winning against Western Michigan and California.

In the National Semifinals against Nebraska, Harmotto had 7 kills and 4 blocks. In the NCAA national championship against Stanford, she had 8 kills and 6 blocks. These efforts helped Penn State achieve a perfect 38–0 record. They also claimed their second national championship in a row. Harmotto ended her college career with a .433 career hitting percentage, which is the second best in NCAA history.

Christa's National Team Career

Christa Harmotto was chosen for the U.S. National Team in April 2009. The team traveled to Cairo, Egypt to play two matches against the Egypt National Team. In the first match, which the U.S. won 3–1, Harmotto scored a team-high 18 points. This included 16 kills with a 64% kill rate and a .560 attack efficiency.

In May 2009, Harmotto began training full-time with the U.S. National Team. She played in several international tournaments that year. These included the 2009 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup in July, the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix in August, and the 2009 Final Four Intercontinental Cup in Lima, Peru in September. At the Final Four Cup, Harmotto started in all five matches. She averaged 0.95 blocks per set, totaling 19 blocks. She was named the tournament's "Best Blocker." She helped Team USA reach the gold medal match, where they lost to Brazil.

Harmotto was also part of the USA national team that won the gold medal at the 2014 World Championship. The team defeated China 3-1 in the final match.