Foluke Gunderson Explained

Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson
Birth Name:Foluke Atinuke Akinradewo
Full Name:Foluke Atinuke Gunderson
Birth Date:5 October 1987
Birth Place:London, Ontario, Canada
Hometown:Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Nationality:Canadian/American/Nigerian
Height:6 ft 3 in
Spike:130 in
Block:118 in
College:Stanford University
Teamnumber:16
Position:Middle blocker
Years:2010–2011
2011–2012
2012–2015
2015–2017
2017–2019
Clubs: TAB Queenseis
Dinamo Krasnodar
Rabita Baku
Volero Zurich
Hisamitsu Springs
Nationalyears:2005–2021
Nationalteam: United States

Foluke Atinuke Gunderson (née Akinradewo; born October 5, 1987) is an indoor volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for Japanese club Hisamitsu Springs. Born in Canada, she represents the United States internationally. Gunderson won gold with the national team at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix, 2014 World Championship, the Rimini Volleyball Nations League, and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics,[1] [2] silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Her 2020 Olympics win allowed her to complete the trifecta of winning an Olympic bronze, silver, and gold medal.[3]

High school and personal life

Gunderson was born in London, Ontario, to Ayoola and Comfort Akinradewo. Her siblings are Folu and Foluso Akinradewo. She holds a tri-citizenship with Canada, Nigeria, and the United States, and used to audition for commercials when she was little.[4]

Gunderson attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was a three-year letter winner in volleyball and was also on the basketball and track & field teams. She was an All-American selection in 2003 and 2004 and an all-state selection in 2002, 2003 and 2004. She was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Volleyball Player of the Year in 2005. In addition to volleyball, she was an all-state selection in basketball and was a four-time Florida State Champion in track. She made her US international debut before the start of her freshman year at Stanford.[5] She helped the US win the 2004 NORCECA Continental Women's Junior Championship, and then was the starting middle blocker on the U.S. Women's Junior National Team at the 2005 FIVB World Championships.

Stanford

Gunderson majored in human biology at Stanford University.[6]

As a freshman in 2005, she was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Pacific Region Freshman of the Year.[7] She was named an AVCA Second Team All-American and led the squad in hitting percentage (.397), a mark which ranked third in the Pac-10, 13th in the nation and third for a single-season in school history. In 2006, she was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team as she led Stanford to an NCAA Division I runner-up finish to Nebraska. For the year, she was named a First Team All-American by the AVCA.[8] [9]

In 2007, Gunderson was named the AVCA National Player of the Year[10] and was the Honda Sports Award winner for volleyball.[11] [12] [13] She broke the Pac-10 and Stanford single season hitting percentage record by more than 50 points, as she averaged .499 percentage, a mark that was first in the nation and second since rally-scoring was introduced in 2001. She was named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team as she led Stanford to their second consecutive Division I national runner-up finish to Penn State. As a senior in 2008, Gunderson repeated as the Pac-10 Player of the Year and got her third consecutive Honda Award nomination. She repeated as a First Team All-American and led Stanford to their third consecutive NCAA title match. She finished her collegiate career with the best career hitting efficiency (.446) of any NCAA Division I player.

Club volleyball

Gunderson joined Toyota Auto Body Queenseis in October 2010.[14] [15] In the 2010–11 V.Premier League, Gunderson was named the winner of the Spike award.[16] Gunderson won the silver medal in the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship, playing with the Azerbaijani club Rabita Baku.[17]

In 2013 Gunderson's club, Rabita Baku, won the Azerbaijan Super League Championship[18] winning their sixth title in a row.[19] [20] She won the league's Best Spiker award.[21]

International career

2012

Gunderson competed for Team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympics.[22] She earned a silver medal for her efforts.[23]

2014

Gunderson was part of the USA national team that won the 2014 World Championship gold medal when the team defeated China 3–1 in the final match.[24] [25] It was the USA's first-ever gold in any of the three major volleyball tournaments.

2016

Gunderson was part of the US bronze medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics. She started all eight games. She was named in the 2016 Olympic Games Dream Team at middle blocker.

2021

In May 2021, she was named to the 18-player roster for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League tournament.[26] that will be played May 25-June 24 in Rimini, Italy. It is the only major international competition before the Tokyo Olympics in July.

On June 7, 2021, US National Team head coach Karch Kiraly announced she would be part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[27]

Awards

Individual

College

National team

Clubs

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: USA claim third FIVB World Grand Prix title with perfect record. FIVB. 2010-08-29.
  2. Web site: Volleyball - AKINRADEWO Foluke. dead. 2021-07-26. Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. en-us. July 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210726182122/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/volleyball/athlete-profile-n1298721-akinradewo-foluke.htm.
  3. USA Volleyball . usavolleyball . 1424286154820505603 . 8 August 2021 . Saving the best for last. @JordanLarson10 & @fakinradewo now have a complete set of Olympic medals: in London 2012, in Rio 2016 and in Tokyo 2020 . https://twitter.com/usavolleyball/status/1424286154820505603.
  4. Web site: Getting to know Foluke Akinradewo . https://web.archive.org/web/20080816032953/http://volleyball.teamusa.org/news/article/1548 . dead . August 16, 2008 . volleyball.teamusa.org.
  5. News: Foluke Akinradewo. https://web.archive.org/web/20140810101446/http://www.teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/athletes/foluke-akinradewo. dead. August 10, 2014. Team USA. 2017-05-03.
  6. Web site: Foluke Akinradewo. CBS Interactive. 2010-08-29. July 11, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110711114109/http://www.gostanford.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/akinradewo_foluke00.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Raider Reflections. St. Thomas Aquinas. 2010-08-29. August 11, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110811094037/http://alumni.aquinas-sta.org/s/1011/images/editor_documents/Reflections_2007_Winter.pdf. dead.
  8. Web site: Stanford places four on All-American squad . https://web.archive.org/web/20110524211307/http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stories/121406aab.html . dead . May 24, 2011 . cstv.com.
  9. Web site: WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ALL-AMERICA TEAMS AND AWARD WINNERS . . September 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705195523/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_volleyball_RB/2015/2015awards.pdf . July 5, 2022 . live .
  10. Web site: 2007 AVCA All-America Teams. American Volleyball Coaches Association. 2010-08-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716232001/http://www.avca.org/articles/index.cfm?action=view&articleID=469&sectionID=24. 2011-07-16. dead.
  11. Web site: 2007 Division I National Player of the Year is Foluke Akinradewo . 2008-07-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080922182207/http://www.avca.org/collegiate/DIawards/07DIPOY.asp . 2008-09-22 . dead .
  12. Web site: Stanford's Foluke Akinradewo Wins Honda Sports Award For Volleyball. https://web.archive.org/web/20200327130424/https://pac-12.com/article/2008/01/17/stanfords-foluke-akinradewo-wins-honda-sports-award-volleyball. dead. March 27, 2020. January 17, 2008. Pac-12. en. 2020-03-27.
  13. Volleyball. CWSA. en. 2020-03-27.
  14. Web site: クインシーズ｜TOYOTA AUTO BODY. 2012-07-21. 2017-05-03. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120721112730/http://www.toyota-body.co.jp/queenseis/foluke.html. 2012-07-21.
  15. Web site: 選手詳細 | バレーボール Vリーグ オフィシャルサイト. バレーボール Vリーグ オフィシャルサイト. ja-JP. 2017-05-03. August 31, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110831144546/http://www.vleague.or.jp/team_player_detail/id=35399. dead.
  16. Web site: 【お知らせ】2010/11Ｖ・プレミアリーグ個人表彰選手 | バレーボール Vリーグ オフィシャルサイト. バレーボール Vリーグ オフィシャルサイト. ja-JP. 2017-05-03.
  17. Web site: Trentino Diatec and Sollys Nestle crowned in Doha. 2012-10-19. FIVB. Doha, Qatar. 2012-10-19.
  18. Web site: http://avf.az/ru/news/130/. 2013-04-17. Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation. ru. ru:"Рабита" празднует чемпионство. 2013-04-28. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130429124921/http://avf.az/ru/news/130/. 2013-04-29.
  19. Web site: "Rabitə" ölkə çempionudur!. 2013-04-19. Azərbaycan QƏZETİ. az. 2013-04-28.
  20. Web site: "Rabitə" ölkə çempionudur. 2013-04-28. Azərbaycan QƏZETİ. az. 2013-04-28.
  21. Web site: Super Liqanın "ən"ləri bəlli oldu. 2013-04-28. Record.az. az. 2013-04-29.
  22. Web site: Foluke Akinradewo - Volleyball - Olympic Athlete. London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 2013-04-24. 2017-05-03. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130424064304/http://www.london2012.com/athlete/akinradewo-foluke-1133141/. 2013-04-24.
  23. Web site: Shocked Americans leave London with silver - Volleyball News | NBC Olympics. 2012-10-26. 2017-05-03. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026180531/http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/volleyball/shocked-americans-leave-london-with-silver.html. 2012-10-26.
  24. News: Volley, Mondiale: Usa batte Cina 3-1. La Gazzetta dello sport. Benedetti. Valeria. it. Milan, Italy. 2014-10-12. 2014-10-12.
  25. News: USA win first World Championship title, China and Brazil complete the podium. FIVB. Milan, Italy. 2014-05-11. 2014-05-11.
  26. Web site: Kiraly announces 18 USA Volleyball women on FIVB VNL Roster |. May 13, 2021.
  27. Web site: USAV Announces U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team. USA Volleyball. English. June 7, 2021. June 7, 2021.

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