Kerri Walsh Jennings
Kerri Walsh Jennings is a renowned American beach volleyball player, celebrated for her extraordinary achievements in the sport. Born on August 15, 1978, in Santa Clara, California, she grew up in a family of athletes, with her mother excelling in volleyball and her father involved in baseball and basketball. Walsh Jennings rapidly gained recognition in high school, ultimately becoming the top-ranked volleyball recruit in the nation and earning numerous accolades, including the Gatorade Circle of Champions National High School Player of the Year. She continued her impressive career at Stanford University, where she led her team to consecutive national titles and received multiple first-team All-American honors.
Transitioning to professional beach volleyball, Walsh Jennings partnered with Misty May-Treanor, with whom she achieved remarkable success, including three Olympic gold medals in 2004, 2008, and 2012. The pair became a dominant force in the sport, setting records for consecutive tournament wins. After May-Treanor's retirement, Walsh Jennings teamed up with April Ross and continued to perform at a high level, winning multiple medals in international competitions. As of 2023, she aims to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Off the court, Walsh Jennings is a dedicated mother of three and has balanced her athletic career with family life.
Kerri Walsh Jennings
Volleyball Player
- Born: August 15, 1978
- Place of Birth: Santa Clara, California
SPORT: Volleyball
Early Life
Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings was born in Santa Clara, California, on August 15, 1978. She is the daughter of Tim and Margie Walsh, both of whom were well-known athletes. Walsh Jennings’s father, standing 6 feet 8 inches in height, played both minor-league baseball and semiprofessional basketball for a short time. Walsh Jennings's mother was a volleyball standout at Santa Clara University and an inspiration to her daughter. Walsh Jennings excelled in athletics during her junior high school years. She was a standout in both basketball and volleyball, following in both of her parents' footsteps. After Walsh Jennings experienced her first major growth spurt as a freshman in high school, people began to take notice of her exceptional athletic skills.
The Road to Excellence
Walsh Jennings played her high school basketball and volleyball at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, California. She emerged as a true standout in the two sports, both at a local and national level. By the time Walsh Jennings was a junior in 1995, she was ranked as the number-one high school volleyball recruit in the nation. In basketball, she was honorably mentioned to the 1994-1995 USA Today basketball All-American team.
Although Walsh Jennings was a tremendous basketball player, her future lay with volleyball. She was the 1995 Gatorade Circle of Champions National High School Player of the Year, a member of the 1994 US national team, and one of only five female finalists for the prestigious Dial Award in 1995. Walsh Jennings also played for Dick Montgomery’s well-known Mizuno girls’ national volleyball team, with which she emerged as a true leader and dominant competitor. Walsh Jennings was also a three-time Junior Olympic all-American. She became the Most Valuable Player of the 1995 Junior Olympics, leading Mizuno to a first-place finish. She was the only high school junior in the nation to be selected to participate in the 1995 US Olympic Festival. Because of Walsh Jennings’s numerous athletic accomplishments, the city of San Jose inducted her into the city’s Sports Hall of Fame in June 1995. This was an extraordinary accomplishment for a young athlete.
After an extremely impressive high school athletic career, Walsh Jennings chose to play volleyball at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Walsh Jennings quickly adapted to collegiate play and established herself as one of the most successful women’s college volleyball players in US history. She led Stanford to consecutive national titles in 1996 and 1997. She also became only the second player in US women’s volleyball history to receive four first-team all-American team honors.
Walsh Jennings was later named the Most Valuable Player of the Volleyball Final Four in 1996. She was a co-national player of the year in 1999. Further adding to her list of accomplishments, Walsh Jennings became the first player in Pac-10 Conference history to record at least 1,500 kills, 1,200 digs, and 500 blocks. While at Stanford, Walsh Jennings would play against her future Olympic partner, Misty May-Treanor. Before opting to start a professional career in volleyball, Walsh Jennings completed a bachelor of arts degree in American studies and graduated from Stanford in 2000.
Continuing the Story
Before her transition to professional beach volleyball, Walsh Jennings continued to participate in indoor volleyball. Walsh Jennings played a dominant role on the US national team in 1999 and 2000. Her play was so well regarded that she was selected to play right-side hitter for the US Olympic volleyball team in the 2000 SydneyGames . Walsh Jennings’s tough and consistent play helped lead Team USA to the bronze-medal round, in which it lost and finished a disappointing fourth. After her Olympic debut, Walsh Jennings decided to refocus her play from the indoor court to the beach, where she quickly established herself as a leading player.
After her successful career at Stanford and her impressive efforts for the American team in the 2000 Olympics, Walsh Jennings turned to beach volleyball. Walsh Jennings teamed up with May-Treanor. The dynamic pair rocketed to stardom on both international and national beach volleyball circuits. On the national level, the duo joined the premier beach volleyball tour, the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) in 2003. Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor compiled a 38-0 record in their first year, winning every domestic tournament they entered. Individually, Walsh Jennings was selected as the AVP’s most valuable player in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, she was the best offensive player on the tour.
As a result of Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor’s tremendous play on the AVP tour, the pair earned the right to represent the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. In Athens, the duo swept through the competition to bring home the first-ever women’s beach volleyball gold medal for the United States. After the Games, the duo went back on the professional circuit and secured another fifty consecutive wins between 2004 and 2007. The pair returned to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. In August 2008, Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor captured their second Olympic gold medal by defeating the first-seeded Chinese team in the final match. Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor established another record by not losing a single set in either of their two Olympic appearances. Their final match in Beijing extended their overall unbeaten tournament streak to 108 matches. The pair won their third gold medal for beach volleyball at the 2012 Olympic Games. In doing so, Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor became the first beach volleyball team to successfully defend an Olympic gold medal title.
May-Treanor retired from professional volleyball after the 2012 Olympics. Walsh Jennings subsequently partnered with April Ross. In October 2013, she and Ross won the FIVB Grand Slam in Xiamen, China, giving Walsh Jennings the 113th title of her career. This broke the record for most tournament wins by a female beach volleyball player, which had been set by May-Treanor. In the summer of 2014, Walsh Jennings injured her shoulder in competition. She continued to play one-handed for several months before undergoing surgery in September 2014. Ross and Walsh Jennings won five medals in 2016 Olympic qualification, including third place at the Fuzhou Open, second place at the Long Beach Grand Slam, first place at the Rio Grand Slam, second place at the Vitoria Open, and third place at the Xiamen Open. Walsh Jennings and April Ross had their 100th team victory with their gold medal at the Rio Grand Slam.
In June 2021, Walsh Jennings failed in her attempt to play in a sixth Olympics. She had targeted the games in Tokyo for such a comeback but failed to qualify alongside her partner Brooke Sweat.
After a two-year hiatus, in 2023 Walsh Jennings announced her intention to compete for a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She later incurred an injury in training and underwent ankle surgery. In June 2024, NBC Universal announced Walsh Jennings's former volleyball partner, Misty-May Treanor, will serve as a volleyball analyst in Paris.
Summary
Kerri Walsh Jennings has influenced volleyball like no other player in history. Her dominance in the sport was evident early on while still in high school. She earned countless accolades, including consecutive beach-volleyball gold medals at the Olympics. She established herself as one of the greatest volleyball players of all time.
Personal Life
Walsh Jennings married professional volleyball player Casey Jennings in December 2005. They have three children, Joseph, Sundance, and Scout. Walsh Jennings was five weeks pregnant with her daughter Scout when she was competing in the 2012 London Olympics.
Bibliography
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