Walsh Jennings leads six-member International Volleyball Hall of Fame induction class

USA Volleyball beach legend Kerri Walsh Jennings heads the International Volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHF) induction class of 2022 that was announced Tuesday. 

In October, Walsh Jennings will join her partner, Misty May-Treanor — inducted in 2016, with whom she won three Olympic gold medals — as one of six members of the IVHF’s 36th induction class. 

Also in the class are Bernard“Bernardinho” Rezende, the all-time great indoor Brazilian men’s and women’s coach; Italian Samuele Papi, four-time indoor Olympian and winner of two silver and two bronze medals; and Brazilian Fernanda Venturini, three-time indoor Olympian and bronze medal winner.

The class includes its first member of the ParaVolley category, Pieter Joon, the founder and first president of World ParaVolley. Also being inducted is Peter Murphy, the former technical director of the Dutch Federation and a member of the FIVB Technical Committee for 30 years.

The induction ceremony will take place in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on Saturday, October 22. Ticket packages are available online at VolleyHall.org/Induction-Celebration.

“This is a remarkable class of inductees for 2022,” said IVHF president Steve Bishop, also the president of the Florida Region of USA Volleyball. 

“On behalf of the IVHF Board of Directors, we look forward to welcoming these legends and their families to Holyoke for the celebration of the year. It is a special moment to watch each inductee reflect on their respective careers as they are celebrated for their many accomplishments and contributions to our sport. We invite the entire volleyball family to join us for this year’s event.”

The IVHF has previously inducted 155 individuals from 25 countries.

“All eyes will be on Holyoke this October,” said IVHF executive director George Mulry. “We are excited to honor this history-making class featuring one of the most dominant beach players to ever grace the sand, the first-ever inductee in the ParaVolley category, leaders on the court, the sidelines and on the cutting edge of the game. This class covers it all and is sure to make for quite an emotional induction ceremony.”

Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA, Beach)

The former Stanford indoors star went to four Olympics in beach volleyball, winning gold with May-Treanor in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and then bronze with April Ross in 2016.

She also won 77 AVP titles and 56 FIVB gold medals. Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor won 112 matches in a row and 19 consecutive tournaments between 2007 and 2009.

Bernard “Bernardinho” Rezende (Brazil, Coach)

Regarded as the most successful volleyball coach of all time with more than 30 major titles and 45 medals in his career. He won a silver medal as a player at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and gold at the 1983 Pan-Am Games. As a coach, the Brazilian women won bronze medals at the 1996 Olympics and 2000 Games. Then he coached the Brazilian men to Olympic gold in 2004 and 2016 and silver in 2008 and 2012.

Pieter Joon (Netherlands, ParaVolley)

Founder and President of World Organisation Volleyball for the Disabled (WOVD), now known as World ParaVolley, from 1980 to 2001. Joon was a member of the Technical Committee Paralympic Games from 1984 to 1992. He was also involved in the competition programs in the Paralympics, including Arnhem 1980, Stoke Mandeville and New York 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

Samuele Papi (Italy, Indoor)

Papi was a member of Italy’s men’s national volleyball team from 1993-2012, which included winning four Olympic medals, silver in 1996 and 2004 and bronze in 2000 and 2012. He won two World Championships, five Italian titles, three European Champions cups, and three European Championships. Papi was the 2003 European Championship “Best Receiver,” and received the 2004 Ribbon Officer’s Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Fernanda Venturini (Brazil, Indoor)

She was one of the most important players in Brazilian women’s volleyball and played in 342 international matches. The three-time Olympian helped lead Brazil to the 1996 Olympic bronze medal and she won silvers at the 1994 FIVB World Championship and at the 1995 and 2003 FIVB World Cups. She also earned three gold medals (1994, 1996, 2004) and one silver (1995) at the FIVB World Grand Prix. Among her awards was being named MVP of the 1994 FIVB World Grand Prix and Best Setter at the 1993, 1994, and 2004 FIVB World Grand Prix tournaments. She was also a 10-time Brazilian club champion.

Peter Murphy (Netherlands, Leader)

Murphy served as the technical director of the Dutch Volleyball Association from 1986 to 1990 when he brought the Bankrasmodel concept (“uncompromising pursuit of a high sports goal”) and world fame to the Dutch men’s national team. The Dutch won silver in the 1992 Olympics under head coach and 1995 IVHF Inductee Arie Selinger and then Olympic gold in 1996 under head coach and 2014 IVHF Inductee Joop Alberda. Murphy was a member of the FIVB Technical Committee for almost 30 years and supervised World Championships and Olympic Games, and co-authored several books, including Speciale bewegingsaspecten in Volleybal (Special Movement Aspects in Volleyball, 1980), Totaalcoachen XL (Total Coach XL, 2006), and De excellerende coach (The Excelling Coach, 2009).

The International Volleyball Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and is dedicated to preserving, honoring and promoting the game of volleyball at every level, men’s and women’s, amateur and pro, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The IVHF was incorporated in 1978 and continues to create a diversely representative institution from a wide range of countries and disciplines.

For more information on the induction events, please visit the Hall’s website at www.VolleyHall.org or email: info@volleyhall.org.

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