We all are familiar with all types of sports and so volleyball too. Participating in any sport has advantages, but volleyball gives opportunities for learning that few other sports provide. The volleyball community is a welcoming environment where you can find a lifetime of play and competition. It is the world’s most famous and well-known respected sport. But are women allowed to play volleyball? A big YES! So here we will see the 10 best female volleyball of all time.
In the late 1800s, women were allowed to compete in some professional events, but they were not allowed to take part in the Olympics until the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
The women’s volleyball team joined the NCAC conference for the first time in 1984. At the end of conference play, they had a 6-0 record and were in first place.
So who are the best female players of volleyball of all time?
Don’t know? Then stick to this article as it has brought out the 10 best female players of volleyball of all time.
1. Yeon Koung Kim
| Full Name | Yeon Koung Kim |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 February 1988 |
| Birth Place | Ansan, South Korea |
| Nationality | Korean |
| Position | Outside Hitter |
| Played in National Team | 10 |
| Played in Clubs | 10 |
| National Team Debut | 2005 |
| Net Worth | $1.9 Million |
| Olympics Won | None |
| Jersey Number | 10 |
| Worldwide Competition | FIVB World Championships, Summer Olympics |
| Awards | Four MVP Awards |
Kim is the first Asian volleyball player to be named CEV Women’s Champions League MVP. She is also the only volleyball player to have four entries on the list of volleyball players who have scored 30 or more points in a single Olympic Games match. Kim also seems to be the most impressive woman who plays volleyball and is regarded as the top best female player of all time.
She got a lot of attention from the Korean media because she was in great shape and did so well on the high school stage. In 2005, she was chosen for the national team because of this. She first played for her country at the World Grand Champions Cup, where she was the third-best scorer.
Yeon has won a lot of medals for South Korea, giving her gold for the Asian Games in 2014, and has played for several clubs, including JTR Marvelous, Fenerbahce, and Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders.
Kim got the most points at the 2012 Olympics in London, even though she didn’t have a platform finish. Yeon-Koung holds the record for most top scores in the Olympics with 207 points in eight games.
2. Yekaterina Gamova
| Full Name | Yekaterina Aleksandrovna Gamova |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 17 October 1980 |
| Birth Place | Yekaterinburg, Russia |
| Nationality | Russia |
| National Team Debut | 1999-2014 |
| Position | Opposite/Outside Hitter |
| Olympic Games | 2000 Sydney (Team)2004 Athens (Team) |
| Russian National Team | Gold Medal |
| FIVB Club World Championship | Gold Medal |
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
Yekaterina Gamova is so big and strong at the net that she has been called the “Queen of Volleyball.” At 2.05 m (6 ft. 9 in.) and an EU feet size of 49, she is one of the tallest female athletes in the world. She was the outside hitter or the player on the other team.
She joined the Turkish team Fenerbahce Acibadem for the 2009-2010 season. She won the Turkish League Championship and made it to the Final Four of the 2010 CEV Indesit Champions League with this team. After losing to Volley Bergamo, her team came in second place, and she was given the award for Best Scorer.
Gamova’s team beat the Brazilian club Molico Osasco 3-0 in the championship match of the 2010 FIVB Club World Championship to win the gold medal. She has been named the championship Best Team’s Best Opposite Spiker and Most Valuable Player. After this, she became one of the best volleyball players of all time.
3. Zhu Ting
| Full Name | Zhu Ting |
| Birth Date | 29 November 1994 |
| Birth Place | China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Position | Outside Hitter |
| National Team | 2 |
| Club | 4 |
| National Team | 2013 |
| Olympic Medals | 1 (Gold) |
| Net Worth | $1-5 Million |
She plays for the Chinese women’s national team as an outside hitter. She played for Istanbul from 2016 to 2019. She plays for the Italian team Savino del Bene Scandicci right now. Zhu and the Chinese national team have won a number of gold medals at international events, such as the 2016 Olympics and the 2019 World Cup. Since her first game in 2011, she has won 14 MVP awards at all levels, including the 2016 Olympic Games MVP. She has announced the best volleyball player of all time.
4. Helia Souza
| Full Name | Helia Rogerio de Souza pinto |
| Birth Date | 10 March 1970 |
| Birth Place | Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Position | Setter |
| Current Club | Retired |
| National Team | Brazil (1991-2008) |
| Summer Olympic 2000 | Bronze Medal |
| Summer Olympic 2008 | Gold Medal |
| Net Worth | $1-5 Million |
Her nickname was “Fofo,” and she used to play for Brazil who is known as the best volleyball player of all time. Starting in 1992, she went to five straight Summer Olympics with the national team of her country. She won a bronze medal in 1996 and another one in 2000. In 2008, he won a gold medal. Souza also won the Pan American Games gold medal in 1999. People called her “Fofo” because her big cheeks reminded them of the famous Brazilian character “Fofo” from a 1980s children’s TV show.
At the 2013 Club World Championship, Fofo won the silver medal with Unilever Vôlei. Starting in 1992, she went to five straight Summer Olympics with the national team of her country.
Souza quit the Brazil national team on September 7, 2008, after helping her country beat the Dominican Republic 3-0 and win the Final Four competition. From 1991, when she played her first game for Brazil, until 2008, when she retired, she played 340 games for Brazil.
5. Brenda Castillo
| Full Name | Brenda Castillo |
| Birth Place | Haina |
| Birth Date | 5 June 1992 |
| Nationality | Dominican |
| Position | Libero |
| National Team | Dominican Republic |
| Current Club | Genter Volei Bauru |
| Number | 5 |
| Net Worth | $2 Million |
She was named the Best Libero at the 2012 Olympic tournament, where the Dominican Republic national team finished fifth.
In the 2010 World Championship, her country’s team won 17th place. So, in 2011, her country’s team came in eighth at the FIVB World Cup. The Dominican Republic was in the top 10 at the 2014 World Championship. Again at the 2015 FIVB World Cup, she was named the Best Libero Individual and placed 7th.
Castillo also won the Pan American Cup in 2008, 2010, 2014, and 2016. She also won the Puerto Rican League with Criollas de Caguas in 2011, and then again in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
She got the silver medal at the U20 World Championship in 2009 and the bronze medal at the U23 World Championship in 2013 and took the title of the best player of all time.
6. Lioubov Sokolova
| Full Name | Lioubav Sokolova |
| Birth Place | Moscow, Russia |
| Birth Date | 4 December 1977 |
| Nationality | Russian, Turkish |
| Position | Wing Spiker |
| Current Club | Retired |
| National Team | Russia (1996-2016) |
| Summer Olympic (2000 & 2004) | Bronze Medal |
| World Championship (2006 & 2010) | Gold Medal |
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
The player, who is named as the best player of all time is now retired, was on the national team that won silver at the Summer Olympics in 2000 in Sydney, bronze at the Summer Olympics in 2004 in Athens, and gold at the World Championships in 2006 and 2010 in Japan.
Sokolova has won many awards in all kinds of fields. She was part of the Spanish team Grupo 2002 Murcia which won the CEV Top Teams Cup in 2006–07. She is the Most Important Participant.
Sokolova and Fenerbahce won the bronze medal at the CEV Champions League in 2010–11.
In May 2016, Sokolova said that she was giving up sports.
7. Yevgeniya Artamonova-Estes
| Full Name | Yevgeniya Artamonova-Estes |
| Date of Birth | 17 July 1975 |
| Place of Birth | Russia |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Position | Outside Hitter |
| National Team Debut | 1991 |
| Olympic Games | Silver Medals |
| Clubs | 6 |
| Tournaments | 123 |
| Awards | 27 |
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
She is a Russian volleyball player who was on the national team and one of only two volleyball players (along with Sergey Tetyukhin) to compete in six Olympic Games in a row. At the Barcelona Summer Olympics in 1992, Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000, and Athens Summer Olympics in 2004, she achieved silver medals.
She also won the Most Beautiful Women Volleyball Player Award, which was given out by Japanese Monthly Volleyball Magazine at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in 1993. As a member of TOYOBO, she came in second place in the “Miss V-League” competition and became the best volleyball player of all time.
Yevgenia is a Commander of the Order of Friendship and a Russian Sports Honored Master.
8. Thaisa Menezes
| Full Name | Thaisa Daher de Menezes |
| Date of Birth | 15 May 1987 |
| Place of Birth | Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Position | Middle Blocker |
| Current Club | Minas Tênis Clube, Brazil |
| Number | 6 |
| National Team | Brazil |
| Net Worth | $1-5 Million |
Menezes has established herself as one of the best female players of all time and was a member of the gold-medal-winning Brazilian team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
At the 2010 FIVB World Club Championship, Menezes and Sollys Osasco won the silver medal. She also won the award for Best Spiker. At the 2011 Pan-American Cup, Menezes won the award for Best Blocker, and her national team won the gold medal. She was on the national team that won the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
At the FIVB World Grand Prix in 2012, Menezes’ national team won silver, and she won the Best Blocker award on her own. Menezes was on the national team that won the gold medal at the London, UK, Olympics in 2012.
She also won the gold medal and the award for Best Spiker at the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship, which was held in Doha, Qatar. However, she is frequently mentioned as one of the best Brazilian players ever.
9. Sheilla Castro
| Full Name | Sheilla Tavares de Castro Blassioli |
| Date of Birth | 1 July 183 |
| Place of Birth | Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Position | Outside Hitter/Opposite Spiker |
| Current Club | Retired |
| National Team | Brazil 2001-2021 |
| Net Worth | $12 Million |
She is an opposite player for Molico/Osasco and the Brazilian national team. Against Colombia, she made her international team debut. At the 2006 FIVB World Grand Prix in Reggio Calabria, Italy, and the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan, when Brazil won the gold medal each time, Castro was voted “Most Valuable Player.” Castro received the “Most Valuable Player” award in the 2011 Pan-American Cup, winning the gold medal with her national team.
At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sheilla was a member of the national team in which she won the gold medal.
Castro won the gold medal, “Most Valuable Player,” and “Best Scorer” honors at the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship in Doha, Qatar, while competing with Sollys Nestlé Osasco.
At the 2013 South American Championship in Ica, Peru, Castro and her National Team took home the gold medal and the “Best Opposite” prize. In the 2014 FIVB Club World Championship, Castro’s team fell to the Russian Dinamo Kazan 0-3 in the final, earning them the silver medal.
Castro announced her retirement from the national team after placing fifth overall at the 2016 Olympic Games and getting the title of the best female player of all time. She made the decision to rejoin the national squad in 2019 and competed in the FIVB World Cup and the 2019 South American Championship without having played for clubs for three years.
10. Fabiana Oliveira
| Full Name | Fabiana Alvim de Oliveira |
| Birth Date | 7 March 1980 |
| Birth Place | Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Position | Libero |
| Summer Olympics | Gold Medal (2008 & 2012) |
| Current Club | Retired |
| National Team | Brazil |
| Net Worth | $20 Million |
Due to her short stature, Fabiana began playing volleyball at the age of 13 and soon developed a preference for defense, eventually moving on to the libero position. De Oliveira’s first call-up to the Brazilian women’s national volleyball team came in 2002, under the guidance of coach Marco Aurélio Motta.
A year later, at the 2008 Summer Olympics, de Oliveira won the gold medal and was named the best libero of the tournament. At the 2011 Pan-American Cup, she won the award for Best Receiver and her national team also won the gold medal.
Oliveira was on the national team that won the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
She was also on the gold-medal-winning Brazilian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Moreover, she also won the South American Championship with her country’s team in 2013 and got an award for being the Best Libero. Oliveira and Unilever Vôlei won the silver medal at the 2013 Club World Championship.
Oliveira decided to stop playing volleyball after her team Sesc Rio won the silver medal in the 2017/2018 season of the Brazilian Superliga. Oliveira is a volleyball commentator at the moment and the best volleyball player of all time.
Final Words:
However, there are also some additional volleyball players on the list, but this article has covered the 10 best female players of all time. These players are an example of those who think women cannot play or compete with males. They are the most well-known women in the history of volleyball and made an honorable position in society today, being the best players.
