Foluke Akinradewo

Foluke Akinradewo
Akinradewo playing for Stanford in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Foluke Atinuke Akinradewo
Born	October 5, 1987 (1987-10-05) London, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Spike	330 cm (130 in)
Block	300 cm (120 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Middle blocker
Current club	Dinamo Krasnodar
Career
Years Clubs 2005–2008 2008–10 2010–11 2011–12 Stanford University USA Volleyball Team TAB Queenseis Dinamo Krasnodar
National team
2003–present	United States
Honours Competitor for United States FIVB World Grand Prix Gold 2010 Ningbo Team Gold 2011 Macau Team Pan American Games Bronze 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team Pan American Cup Bronze 2010 Rosarito & Tijuana Team Bronze 2011 Ciudad Juárez Team World Cup Silver 2011 Japan

Foluke Atinuke Akinradewo (born October 5, 1987) is a member of the U.S. national volleyball team. She played college women's volleyball at Stanford University. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. From February to July 2008, she trained with the U.S. national team and was an alternate on the 2008 Olympic team.

Playing with her national team, Akinradewo won the gold medal and the MVP award at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix.

High school and personal life

Akinradewo was born in London, Ontario, Canada, to Ayoola and Comfort Akinradewo. She holds a tri-citizenship with Canada, Nigeria and the United States, and used to audition for commercials when she was little. Her favorite holiday is Christmas, her favorite subject is science, her favorite books are the Harry Potter series, her favorite TV show is LOST and her favorite music artists is John Mayer, Snow Patrol, The Fray, and Kalai.

Akinradewo 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.

Stanford

Akinradewo majored in human biology at Stanford University.

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. 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 and Volleyball Magazine.

In 2007, Akinradewo was named the AVCA National Player of the Year and was the Honda Award winner for volleyball. 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, Akinradewo 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.

International career

Akinradewo joined Toyota Auto Body Queenseis in October 2010 [1][2]. In 2010–11 V.Premier League, Akinradewo was named Spike award [3].

Awards

Individuals

• 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix "Most Valuable Player"
• 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Blocker"
• 2011 2010–11 V.Premier League – Spike award

College

• Four-time AVCA All-American (2005, second team; 2006–08, first team)
• Three-time Volleyball Magazine first team All-American (2006–08)
• Four-time All-Pac-10 team (2005–08)
• Two-time NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team (2006, 2007)
• 2008 – Volleyball Magazine National co-Player of the Year
• 2008 – Honda Award nominee
• 2008 – Pac-10 Player of the Year
• 2007 – AVCA National Player of the Year
• 2007 – Pac-10 Player of the Year
• 2007 – Honda Award winner for volleyball
• 2007 – NCAA Stanford Regional MVP
• 2007 – Pac-10 Player of the Week (Oct. 1)
• 2006 – Honda Award nominee
• 2005 – AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year
• 2005 – Pac-10 Freshman of the Year

Sources

• Akinradewo Player Bio at gostanford.com
• Akinradewo on usavolleyball.org

External links

• FIVB Profile