Chiaka Sylvia Ogbogu ( ; born April 15, 1995) is an American professional

volleyball player {{short description, none This is a list of lists of volleyball players, and of notable examples in fiction. Lists of notable players * List of international volleyball players * List of American beach volleyball players * List of Chinese volleyb ...

. As a member of the United States women's volleyball team she has earned titles at multiple international competitions, including a gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and a silver medal at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Early life

Ogbogu was born in 1995 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

parents. Her family moved to Dallas shortly after she was born. She began playing volleyball in middle school. She led

Coppell High School Coppell High School is a public high school located in Coppell, Texas. It is part of the Coppell Independent School District located in extreme northwest Dallas County. Overview The school graduated its first class of twenty-five students in ...

to two straight volleyball Texas state championships in 2011 and 2012 and was a Gatorade Texas Player of the Year in 2012. Ogbogu attended

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where she was a four-time AVCA All-American and the 2017 Big 12 Player of the Year. At the time of her graduation, Ogbogu held the university's record in career blocks.

Career

National team

Ogbogu has been part of the United States national team since 2018, when she debuted at the 2018 Pan American Cup and won gold. In the finals against Dominican Republic, she scored seven of the team's 17 blocks and was the second highest scorer on the team with 21 points overall. In 2019, Ogbogu earned gold at the Volleyball Nations League with the national team. Ogbogu and the team again won gold at the next edition of the games in 2021. That year, she was named to the 12-player Olympic roster that would compete in the

in Tokyo. The team won Team USA its first-ever Olympic gold medal. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Ogbogu was a starting middle blocker for all six of Team USA's matches. She earned silver with the team and was the only Team USA player named to the Paris Dream Team, earning the award for Best Middle Blocker. She was the second-highest scoring blocker of the Paris games with 21 blocks, averaging 3.50 blocks per match. During a pool play match against Serbia, Ogbogu scored eight blocks, tying the Olympic record for most blocks in a match.

Club

Ogbogu began her professional career in playing in Italy for Il Bisonte Firenze in 2017. She then joined the Polish club

Chemik Police Klub Piłkarski Chemik Police, commonly referred to as Chemik Police, is a football club based in Police near Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwe ...

for the 2018–2019 season, before returning to Italy to play for

Imoco Volley Conegliano Imoco Volley is an Italian professional women's volleyball club based in Conegliano in Northern Italy and currently playing in the Italian Women's Volleyball League, Serie A1. On the global stage, the team is a world champion (current) winning th ...

for the 2019–2020 season. She joined the Turkish club

Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. As of 2023, the Group's 50 companies employ more than 13,500 people, operate 40 production plants, and generate a combined net turnover of TL 33 billion. Group E ...

in 2020, then transferred to VakıfBank for the 2021–2022 season. She remained with VakıfBank until 2024. In April 2024, American league

League One Volleyball LOVB Pro (pronounced "love" and commonly referred to as League One Volleyball) is a women's professional indoor volleyball league in the United States. The league is owned by League One Volleyball (LOVB), a volleyball body founded in 2020. Its ...

(LOVB) announced that Ogbogu would be a founding member of the league's

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

team for its inaugural season.

Clubs

* Il Bisonte Firenze (2017–2018) *

KPS Chemik Police KPS Chemik Police is the professional women's volleyball department of Polish sports club based in Police and plays in the Tauron Liga. Previous names Due to sponsorship, the club have competed under the following names: * KS Chemik Police (1 ...

(2018–2019) *

(2019–2020) *

Eczacıbaşı VitrA Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. As of 2023, the Group's 50 companies employ more than 13,500 people, operate 40 production plants, and generate a combined net turnover of TL 33 billion. Group E ...

(2020–2021) * VakıfBank (2021–2024) *

LOVB Austin LOVB Austin is an American professional women's indoor volleyball team based in Austin, Texas. It is a member of LOVB Pro, which began play in January 2025. History In 2021, LOVB announced plans to start a professional women's volleyball league ...

(2024–present)

Awards

Individual

2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship The 2022 FIVB Women's Volleyball Club World Championship was the 15th edition of the tournament. It was held in Antalya, Turkey from 14 to 18 December. Six teams competed in the tournament. Qualification Venue Format Preliminary round Six ...

- "Best Middle Blocker" *

- "Best Middle Blocker"

Club

* 2018-19 Polish Cup - Champion, with

* 2019 Italian Supercup - Champion, with

2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship The 2019 FIVB Women's Club World Championship was the 13th edition of the tournament. For the second straight time it was held in Shaoxing, China from 3 to 8 December. Eight teams competed in the tournament, including four wild cards. Qualificat ...

- Champion, with

* 2019-20 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with

* 2020 AXA Sigorta Champions Cup (

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

) - Champion, with Eczacibasi Vitra *

2021–22 CEV Women's Champions League The 2021–22 CEV Women's Champions League was the 62nd edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Qualification Pools composition Drawing of Lots was held on 24 Septe ...

Champion with Vakıfbank *

- Runner-Up, with VakıfBank S.K.

References

External links

*
Chiaka Ogbogu
at

USA Volleyball USA Volleyball (USAV) is a non-profit organization which is recognized as the national governing body of volleyball in the United States by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committe ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogbogu, Chiaka 1995 births Living people American women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics American expatriate volleyball players in Germany Texas Longhorns women's volleyball players LOVB Austin players Middle blockers Sportspeople from Coppell, Texas University of Texas at Austin alumni American expatriate sportspeople in Italy Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics VakıfBank S.K. volleyballers American expatriate volleyball players in Turkey Coppell High School alumni Volleyball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Dallas County, Texas American expatriate volleyball players in Poland Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in volleyball 21st-century American sportswomen