Summer Ross facts for kids
Ross at the 2019 World Championships
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 20, 1992 Carlsbad, California, U.S. |
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Beach volleyball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left side/blocker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Sara Hughes (2018–2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former partner(s) |
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| Coached by | José Loiola (2018–) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Updated on August 25, 2018. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summer Ross (born December 20, 1992) is an American beach volleyball player. She became a world champion in 2010. That year, she won both the Under-19 and Under-21 titles. This made her the only player to win both in the same year. She was also named the USA Volleyball Beach Female Athlete of the Year in 2010. From 2018 to 2022, her partner was Sara Hughes.
Contents
Early Life and Junior Beach Volleyball Career
Summer Ross was born in Carlsbad, California. Her parents are Tony and Kathy. Her older brother, Chase, played volleyball at Pepperdine University.
Summer started training with USA Volleyball (USAV) in 2008. She competed in the 2008 Under-21 World Championships. She also played in the 2009 Under-19 and Under-21 World Championships.
Her biggest success came in 2010. Summer and her teammate Jane Croson won the Under-19 World Championships in August. The next month, Summer teamed up with Tara Roenicke. They won the Under-21 World Championships. They beat Italy's Marta Menegatti and Viktoria Orsi Toth in the final match.
At 17, Summer became the first beach volleyball player to win both age-group world titles in one year. By the end of 2010, she was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine. She was also named USAV's Beach Female Athlete of the Year. Two years later, she placed fourth at the Under-21 World Championships with Sara Hughes.
Summer also played indoor volleyball for her high school. She graduated from Carlsbad Seaside Academy in 2011. She was the top student in her class, known as the valedictorian.
College Volleyball Experience
Summer Ross was a highly sought-after player for indoor volleyball. She played for the Washington Huskies in 2011. She started in all 32 matches and led her team in service aces.
After her first year, beach volleyball became a new sport for women in the NCAA. Many colleges started having beach volleyball teams. Summer moved to Pepperdine University in 2012. She wanted to play NCAA beach volleyball, as Washington did not have a team then.
At Pepperdine, she partnered with Caitlin Racich. They helped Pepperdine win the first team and pairs national championships. Summer was named an All-American for college beach volleyball. Later that year, Summer and her partner Emily Day won the 2012 World University Championships in Brazil.
Summer left college in 2013 to become a professional beach volleyball player.
Amateur and Early Professional Career
Even while in high school and college, Summer competed in professional tournaments. She first played in an Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) event in 2008. In 2009, at ages 16 and 17, Summer and Natalie Hagglund became the youngest team to play in an AVP main tournament.
In 2010, Summer played in four AVP tournaments. She finished as high as 13th place. In 2012, she played in her first major international tournament. She competed with former Olympian Nicole Branagh in Germany. The next week, she received a special invitation to play in a tournament in Austria. This was a prize for winning the Under-21 World Championships in 2010.
Professional Beach Volleyball Journey
2013–2014: Playing with Emily Day
In 2013, Summer Ross teamed up with Brittany Hochevar for a short time. Then, she partnered with Emily Day. They finished in the top five in three major tournaments. In July, they tied for 17th at the World Championships.
In November, Summer and Emily reached their first final on the World Tour. They finished second at the Phuket Open in Thailand. They ended 2013 ranked 22nd in the world. On the AVP tour, Summer and Emily won the Cincinnati Open in September. This was Summer's first AVP title. They also reached the finals in two other AVP events.
In 2014, Summer and Emily's best World Tour finish was fifth place in Norway. They also had two ninth-place finishes. They ended the year ranked 21st. On the AVP tour, they were the top-ranked team. They finished second at the Atlantic City Open and third in three other events.
2015–2016: Partnerships with Jennifer Fopma and Lane Carico
Summer Ross and Emily Day stopped playing together. Summer then teamed up with Jennifer Fopma for the first half of 2015. Their best finish was fifth place in Prague. Summer then played with Lane Carico for the rest of 2015. They also had two fifth-place finishes. They ended the year ranked 37th.
Domestically, Summer and Lane finished second at the Seattle Open. They also placed third in two other AVP tournaments. In 2016, Summer and Lane won the Seattle Open. They beat Fopma and Hochevar in the final. They also finished second or third in other AVP events. On the World Tour, their best result was a fifth-place finish in China. They also had six ninth-place finishes. They ended 2016 ranked 23rd.
2017: Playing with Brooke Sweat
At the end of 2016, Summer partnered with Brooke Sweat. In 2017, Summer won the Seattle Open again with Brooke. They also finished second at the New York City Open and the Chicago Championships.
On the World Tour, they finished second at the Moscow Open in June. They lost to Brazil's top team in the final. They also placed fourth in Fort Lauderdale. At the 2017 World Championships, they finished fifth. They lost to the eventual champions from Germany.
2018–Present: Partnership with Sara Hughes
In March 2018, Summer and Brooke Sweat won a bronze medal in Fort Lauderdale. Summer had the most points, kills, and blocks in that tournament. Later that month, Summer teamed up with Sara Hughes. Summer and Sara had played together before in the 2012 Under-21 World Championships.
Hughes and Ross won their first tournament together at the AVP New York Open in June 2018. The next month, they won a bronze medal at their first World Tour tournament together. Hughes and Ross later won the 2018 AVP Hermosa Beach Open. They also won the 2018 Moscow Open, which was their first World Tour gold medal.
At the end of 2018, Summer Ross was named USAV's Female Beach Athlete of the Year. This was her first time winning this award since 2010.
How Summer Ross Plays
Summer Ross is a "blocker" in beach volleyball. This means she plays close to the net to stop the ball from coming over. She usually plays on the left side of the court. She is known for her excellent "hand setting." This is a special skill not many women players use. She is also good at controlling the ball and has a strong attack.
During matches, Summer is known for being calm and focused. Her teammate Sara Hughes has praised Summer's strong play at the net. Her former partner Brooke Sweat described her as a "consistent, solid, steady player."
In 2018, Summer Ross was a top player on the World Tour. She ranked first for total points scored and total "kills" (successful attacks). She also ranked third for total "blocks" (stopping the opponent's attack).
