Haleigh Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Haleigh Washington |
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Haleigh Meridian Washington | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 22, 1995 Denver, Colorado |
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| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 307 cm (121 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 295 cm (116 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College(s) | Pennsylvania State University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Middle Blocker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club |  LOVB Salt Lake |
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| Number | 22 (national team) 15 (LOVB Salt Lake) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Haleigh Meridian Washington, born on September 22, 1995, is an amazing American volleyball player. She plays as a middle blocker for the United States women's national volleyball team. Haleigh helped her college team, the Penn State Nittany Lions, win a national championship in 2014. She also won a gold medal with the national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
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About Haleigh Washington
Haleigh was born in Denver, Colorado. Her parents are Danielle and Alecs. When she was younger, she was good at basketball. However, she found her true passion for volleyball when she joined her seventh-grade team.
Haleigh's High School Journey
She went to Clear Creek High School. College volleyball coaches started noticing her talent in her first year there. Before her junior year, her family moved to Colorado Springs. She finished high school at Doherty High School. There, she set a state record by getting 48 kills in one match!
Haleigh was named Colorado Volleyball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. She led her team to a state championship in 2012. In 2013, she was named Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year. She was considered the best high school recruit in her class. She chose to play college volleyball at Penn State. Haleigh has a brother named Kayden and a sister named Leilani.
Playing for Penn State
Haleigh was a top player for the Penn State team. She was named a first-team All-American three times. As a freshman, she helped her team win the 2014 NCAA National Title. In her senior year, the team made it to the Final Four in 2017.
She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. This was because she had an amazing hitting percentage of .463 that season. In her senior year, she was the 2017 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. She also led the country with a .503 hitting percentage. Haleigh scored 3.03 kills per set during that season. She received AVCA All-American honors three times.
Haleigh has said that her Penn State coach, Russ Rose, helped her get ready for the tough world of international volleyball.
Haleigh's Professional Career
After college, Haleigh played for many professional volleyball teams in Italy. These teams were part of the Italian Series A1. She played for Igor Gorgonzola Novara from 2020 to 2022. For the 2022–2023 season, she played with Savino Del Bene Scandicci. Currently, she plays for LOVB Salt Lake in the USA.
Playing for Team USA
Haleigh is a key player for the United States women's national volleyball team. In 2019, she started all three matches of the Tokyo Qualification Tournament. This helped Team USA earn their spot in the 2020 Olympic Games.
She was chosen for the 18-player team for the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League. In her first game as a starting middle blocker, she had nine kills and one block against Brazil.
On June 7, 2021, the US National Team coach, Karch Kiraly, announced that Haleigh would be on the 12-player Olympic team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Haleigh helped her team win the USA's first-ever gold medal in women's volleyball! She was also named the Best Middle Blocker of the tournament. She also won a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Awards and Honors
Haleigh has won many awards throughout her career:
International Awards
- 2019 FIVB Nations League – "Best Middle Blocker"
- 2020 Summer Olympics – "Best Middle Blocker"
Professional Club Awards
- 2022–23 Women's CEV Cup -
Champion, with Savino del Bene Scandicci - 2021–22 Italian Serie A1 League –
Bronze medal, with Novara - 2021–22 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) –
Silver medal, with Novara - 2021–22 Italian Super Cup – Silver medal, with Novara
- 2020–21 CEV Women's Champions League – Bronze medal, with Novara
- 2020–21 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) – Silver medal, with Novara
- 2020–21 Italian Serie A1 League – Silver medal, with Novara
- 2020–21 Italian Super Cup – Bronze medal, with Novara
- 2019–20 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) – Silver medal, with Busto
College Awards
- 2014
NCAA Division I National Champions - 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- 2014 Unanimous All-Big Ten Freshman Team
- 2014 NCAA Louisville Regional All-Tournament
- 2014 All-Big Ten
- AVCA First Team All-American (2015, 2016, 2017)
- Unanimous All-Big Ten selection (2015, 2016, 2017)
- 2015 B1G/Pac-12 Challenge Most Valuable Player
- 2016 CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-America
- 2017 Senior CLASS Award winner in NCAA Division I volleyball
- 2017 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
See also
- List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians
