Name: Kelly Murphy
Sport: Volleyball
Discipline(s): Volleyball
Position: Opposite
Height: 6-2
Birthplace: Joliet, Ill.
Hometown: Wilmington, Ill.
High School: Joliet Catholic High School
College: University of Florida, Elementary Education
Olympic Experience
  • 2016 Olympic Games (Bronze Medal)
World Championship Experience
  • 2018 FIVB World Championship (5th Place)
  • 2014 FIVB World Championship (Gold)
Personal: Started playing club volleyball at age 11 in 2000 with Club Uno....Mother played volleyball at Illinois State University
More

Most Notable

  • Bronze medalist at 2016 Olympic Games where she started all eight matches at opposite and scoring 76 points
  • Scored a team-best 157 points during the 2014 FIVB World Championship helping U.S. Women win the gold medal.
  • Has led U.S. Women in scoring in 2013 and 2014, her first two seasons since joining the team... As a rookie, she tallied 314 points with a 3.53 scoring average. In her second season in 2014, she scored team-highs of 370 points and 4.35 points per set average in 2014
  • Named Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker of the 2013 NORCECA Women's Continental Championship after leading Team USA to gold medal
  • Finished 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round ranked second in Best Spiker with a 45.0 kill percent

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION:
2018 - FIVB Volleyball Nations League (Gold)...FIVB World Championship (5th Place)
2017 - FIVB World Grand Prix (5th Place)
2016 - FIVB World Grand Prix (Silver)...Olympic Games (Bronze).
2015 - USA Volleyball Cup vs China...FIVB World Grand Prix (Gold)
2014 - USA Volleyball Cup vs. Brazil...FIVB World Grand Prix (5th Preliminary Round)...FIVB World Championship (Gold)
2013 - Pan American Cup (Gold)...USA Volleyball Cup vs. Japan...FIVB World Grand Prix (6th)...NORCECA Championship (Gold-MVP)...FIVB Grand Champions Cup (Silver).

Did You Know

  • Led the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2007 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Junior World Championship, earning the tournament’s Best Server award
  • Three-time AVCA All-America (first-team in 2010 and 2011, second-team in 2009) while playing at University of Florida
  • Finished seventh in University of Florida history in sets played (447), eighth in kills (1,306), eighth in assists (2,671), 10th in aces (126) and 10th in points (1,567.5) while registering 30 career triple-doubles
  • Helped Hoosier Exterminators win the first-ever Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Championship in 2012
  • Selected Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist in 2011
  • AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 2008
  • Named 2007-2008 Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year (Article)
  • Ranked as nation's top recruit by PrepVolleyball.com after career at Joliet Catholic High School in Illinois
  • Played on Sports Performance club that went 84-0 over three years, earning MVP honors after team won the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships 18 Open title in 2007 and 16 Open title in 2006
  • Started playing club volleyball at age 11 in 2000 with Club Uno.
  • Mother played volleyball at Illinois State University

Kelly Murphy's Favorites:
Food: Chocolate Chip Cookies ... Book: Harry Potter series ... Music Type: Country, Pop ... Professional Team: Chicago Cubs

Path to the Podium

  • Started playing youth club volleyball at age 11 for Uno Volleyball Club in 2000
  • Earned MVP honors of the 2007 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships as she led Sports Performance to gold, capping a three-year career with an 84-0 record
  • Member of the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team that finished fourth at the 2007 FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship
  • Chosen Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year in 2007-2008 to wrap up her senior season at Joliet Catholic Academy
  • Three-time AVCA All-American at University of Florida after being AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 2008
  • Made debut with U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2013 Pan American Cup
  • Member of the 2014 FIVB World Championship gold-medal team as she scored a team-best 157 points
  • Earned bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games as she started all eight matches at opposite

The Big Blurb
University of Florida head volleyball coach Mary Wise on Kelly Murphy: "A unique talent. She has a picture-perfect arm swing coming from a 6-foot-2 left-hander. She has great court vision and great arm speed. That by itself would be enough to make her a special talent. But then she has one of the best deliveries and touches on the ball ... of any setter in the college game. She makes it look effortless." (from espnW article dated Dec. 7, 2011)

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Last Updated: October 2018