Despite a not-so-ideal year, April Ross still made the best of her situations to earn the USA Volleyball Female Beach Player of the Year.
The 2017 beach season started like many others for Ross as she and Kerri Walsh-Jennings started the year as partners following a disappointing bronze medal finish at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. It came down to a feud with the AVP Tour that led the dynamic duo to part ways back in May, seeking new partners for the season and heading into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Ross moved around partners a number of times during the season, starting with an AVP Tour win in Austin with Whitney Pavlik before choosing Lauren Fendrick for the remainder of the season – to which, the pairing won the New York AVP Tour event with Ross having a broken toe and claimed the silver medal at the FIVB World Championships and the Long Beach Presidents Cup.
This season marks the fifth time in a row that Ross has been selected as USAV’s Beach Player of the Year and the seventh time in her career.
USA Volleyball Female Beach Players of the Year
- 2017 – April Ross
- 2016 – April Ross
- 2015 – April Ross
- 2014 – April Ross
- 2013 – April Ross
- 2012 – Misty May-Treanor
- 2011 – April Ross
- 2010 – Summer Ross
- 2009 – April Ross
- 2008 – Misty May-Treanor
- 2007 – Misty May-Treanor
Now, with the 2017 season behind her, Ross is looking ahead at 2018 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, with her newly appointed partner Alix Klineman.
Leave a Reply