USA Volleyball announces Women's (1978-2002) 75th Anniversary All-Era Team

by Paul Soriano USA Volleyball Manager, Public Relations & Publications

Six USA Volleyball All-Time Great Players and four members of the Volleyball Hall of Fame, led by Most Valuable Player Flo Hyman, headline the 12 players selected to the 1978-2002 Women's 75th Anniversary All-Era Team, USA Volleyball announced Wednesday.

As part of the 2002-03 Diamond Jubilee Celebration, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA), the Executive Committee of USA Volleyball approved a proposal by long-time USVBA member Glen Davies to select-and honor-players and coaches selected as members of five men's and women's All-USVBA/USAV teams representing five different and distinct eras in the history of the organization.

USA Volleyball President Al Monaco approved Davies as the coordinator of the selection and the procedures to be followed in naming the teams.

Davies' responsibilities include: establishing the criteria for players and coaches to meet to have their names appear on the ballots; appointing the members of the five Selection Committees for players; determining the voting procedures; tabulating the results of the voting; and presenting the finished product to USA Volleyball.

Davies appointed Tom Slaymaker and Doug Beal as chairs of the Players Selection Committees and the Coaches Selection Committee, respectively.

The teams -- three men's (1928-1952; 1953-1977; 1978-2002) and two women's (1949-1977; 1978-2002) -- are comprised of 12 players and three coaches from that era and were chosen by five separately appointed Selection Committees. The players who received the highest vote total for each of the five teams were named the Most Valuable Player of that particular team.

The following are the 12 players selected as members of the 1978-2002 All-USVBA Women's Team.

Rita Crockett

Rita Crockett laid the groundwork in 1978 for her acceptance to this USVBA All-Era team when she was chosen as the USVBA Female Rookie of the Year and selected as an USVBA Women's Open First-Team All-American. Rita's career, which was honored in 1993 with the USVBA Flo Hyman All-Time Great Female Player award, included being a six-time member of the USA National team. Rita was a two-time member of the World Championships team and the Pan Am Games team. She earned a silver medal as a member of the 1984 Olympic Team. Rita was also a member of the 1980 Olympic Team that did not compete due to the boycott.

Tara Cross-Battle

After being named the 1989 USVBA Open Female Rookie of the Year, Tara Cross-Battle was well on her way to being selected to this All-USVBA's women's team. She has been a nine-time member of the USA National team, in addition to winning a USA Women's Open National Championship. In 1991 she was co-winner of the Coaches Award, sharing the title with Elaina Oden. Tara is a three-time Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000) and was also a three World Championship teams (1990, 1994, 2002). She won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and a silver medal at the 2002 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Tara has been a two-time participant in the World Cup and Pan Am Games. She is one of only two current members of the USA Women's National Team on this All-Era squad.

Patty Dowdell

Patty Dowdell was selected as a USVBA All-Time Great Female Player in 1989 and inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1994. She piled up personal accolades throughout her playing career as well, being chosen the 1973 USVBA Female Rookie of the Year, selected as a USVBA Women's Open First-Team All American seven times and named USVBA Women's Open Player of the Year in 1978 and 1994. Patty was also an eight-time member of the USVBA Women's Open National Championship teams and a member of the USA National team. She played in the 1978 World Championships and the 1975 and 1979 Pan Am Games. She was a member of the 1980 Olympic Team that did not compete due to the boycott.

Lori Endicott

Lori Endicott was a member of the 1986 USVBA Female All-Rookie Team and played for the USA National team for eight years. She was a member of the 1992 Olympic team that earned the bronze medal. Following the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Lori was named the "Best Setter" of the tournament. Lori, who became a two-time Olympian when she played in the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, also played in two World Championships, two Pan Am Games and two World Cups.

Debbie Green

In 1995, Debbie Green was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame. Twenty years earlier, in 1975, she began the journey to the Hall of Fame by being named an USVBA Women's Open First-Team All-American, a feat she would duplicate in 1976 and 1977. During her playing career she also won an Open National Championship and was a two-time member of the USA National team. She was the starting setter for the United States team that captured the silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and was also a member of the 1980 Olympic team that did not compete due to the boycott. Debbie was a part of two Pan American Game's teams (1979, 1983) and competed in a pair of World Championships, including the bronze-medal winning squad in 1982. In 1986 she was selected as a USVBA All-Time Great Female Player.

Caren Kemner

Caren Kemner was selected as the 1985 USVBA Female Rookie of the Year and was a nine-time member of the USA National team. She played on the Olympic team in 1988, 1992 and 1996, and was also a two-time participant at the Pan Am Games, the World Championships and World Cup. Caren was a six-time recipient of the USOC Female Volleyball Athlete of the Year and a five-time winner of the USA team MVP award.

Elaina Oden

Elaina Oden was a mainstay on the USA National team from 1986 through 1996. A two-time Olympian (1992, 1996) and 1992 bronze medallist, she was also a member of three World Championships, two World Cup and two Pan Am Games teams. In 1991 she was co-winner of the Coaches Award, sharing the honor with Tara Cross-Battle. In 1995 she was named "Best Spiker" as the United States won the World Grand Prix and elected to the All-Canada Cup team.

Kim Oden

Kim Oden was a member of the 1982 USVBA Female All-Rookie Team and a three-time USVBA Women's Open First-Team All American. She was a two-time member of an USVBA Women's Open National Championship team and, like her sister Elaina, a regular on the USA National team from 1986 through 1994. Kim represented the United States as its team captain at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and captured a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At the 1988 Olympics she was voted "Best Hitter" by tallying the highest hitting percentage during the competition. Kim also played in the 1990 and 1994 World Championships, the 1991 World Cup and the 1987 Pan Am Games.

Danielle Scott

Danielle Scott earned her place on this team before earning "Best Blocker" honors and leading the United States to a silver medal at the 2002 World Championships last summer in Germany. Danielle, who also owns a bronze medal from the 1991 World University Games, a silver medal from the 1994 Goodwill Games and a silver medal from the 1995 Pan Am Games, is a two-time Olympian (1996, 2000) who has her eyes on a third Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 2004. In all, she has also participated in three Pan Am Games, two World Cups and two World Championships. Danielle was also named Most Valuable Player and Best Blocker at the 2001 World Grand Prix after leading the United States to the gold medal. She joins Tara Cross-Battle as the only other current USA Women's National Team member on this All-Era team.

Paula Weishoff

In 1998, Paula Weishoff was selected as a USVBA Flo Hyman All-Time Great Female Player and inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame. She was able to gain this recognition through a career that landed her on two USVBA Women's Open First-Team All American lists and one USVBA Women's Open National Championship team. Paula was also a nine-time member of USA National teams, which included three appearances in the Summer Olympics and two appearances each at the Pan Am Games, the World Championships and the World Cup. She earned a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where she also captured Most Valuable Player honors. Paula was also a member of the 1996 Olympic Team.

Sue Woodstra

In 1993, Sue Woodstra was selected as a USVBA Flo Hyman All-Time Great Female Player. The award seemed only fitting for a four-time USVBA Women's Open First-Team All-American and the 1986 USVBA Women's Open Player of the Year. She also played on three USVBA Women's Open National Championship teams and was a three-time participant in the World Championships and Pan Am Games. Sue earned a silver medal as team captain of the 1984 Olympic Team. She was also a member of the 1980 Olympic Team that did not compete due to the boycott.

Flo Hyman (Most Valuable Player)

Flo earned her place on this team through a stellar career, beginning with her election to the USVBA Open Female All-Rookie Team in 1973. She was three-time USVBA Women's Open First-Team All American and a two-time member of a USA Women's Open National Championship team. Flo, who was inducted in the Volleyball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1988, was also a two-time participant in the World Championships and Pan Am Games. Hyman was honored as the Best Hitter at the 1981 World Cup competition and was selected to the All-World Cup Team, which was considered to be the top six female players in the world. In 1984, she helped Team USA capture their first medal in Olympic competition when the women took home the silver medal at the Summer Games in Los Angeles. She was also a member of the 1980 Olympic Team that did not compete do to the boycott. In 1985, Flo was selected by the USVBA as an All-Time Great Female Player. Not long after receiving the award, Flo collapsed during a match for her club team in Japan on January 24, 1986. Flo died the same day of Marfan Syndrome, a rare genetic disease that she did not know she had. After her untimely death, the USVBA renamed the All-Time Great Female Player Award the USVBA Flo Hyman All-Time Great Female Player Award. Since 1987, the Women's Sports Foundation has followed suit and has awarded one female athlete a year the prestigious Flo Hyman Award.

For more information, go to the USA Volleyball web site.