Oliver Venno (born 23 May 1990) is an Estonian

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player currently playing for

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

of the

Qatari Volleyball League The Qatari Volleyball League (QVL) is a professional volleyball league in Qatar at the top of the Qatari volleyball league system. It was founded in 1979. Teams 2020–21 * Al Ahli S.C. * Al Arabi S.C. * Al Gharafa S.C. * Al Khor S.C. * Al Ra ...

. He mostly plays at the opposite hitter position but has also played at the outside hitter position on numerous occasions.

Club career

Early years

Venno was born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, and started his career in hometown club

Pere Leib Tartu BIGBANK Tartu is an Estonian professional volleyball club based in Tartu, Estonia, that competes in the Baltic Men Volleyball League. Founded in 1999, the team has won 6 Baltic League championships, 6 Estonian League championships and 6 Estonia ...

at the age of 16. In addition to three Estonian League silver medals he won the Estonian Cup in 2008 with the and reached the finals of the

Baltic League The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinavi ...

twice. Venno was named the Best Young Estonian Volleyball Player in 2008 and 2009.

European clubs

In summer of 2009 Venno signed with

ACH Volley Bled ACH Volley is a Slovenian professional men's volleyball club based in Ljubljana that competes in the Slovenian League. They play their home matches at Tivoli Hall. The club was founded in 1970 and was based in Bled until 2011, when the team re ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. With the

Bled Bled (; ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Carniolan regio ...

team Venno won the Slovenian League, the Slovenian Cup and the

MEVZA Cup The Middle European League or MEVZA League is a regional volleyball league, established in 2005 and contested by the club teams from the Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association (MEVZA). In the men's edition, the most successful team is ACH V ...

. They also reached the Final Four of the

2009–10 CEV Champions League The 2009–10 CEV Champions League was the 51st edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Participating teams League round 24 teams will be drawn to 6 pools of 4 teams ...

making Venno the first Estonian to play in the semi-finals of the Champions League. In 2010 and 2011 Venno won the Estonian Volleyball Player of the Year award. From 2010 to 2012 he played in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for

VfB Friedrichshafen VfB Friedrichshafen Volleyball GmbH is a German professional men's volleyball club founded in 1969 and based in Friedrichshafen, southern Baden-Württemberg. Main stakeholder is VfB Friedrichshafen e.V. The club plays in the German Deutsche Volle ...

and won the German League and the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

once. Venno started the 2012–13 season in the Montenegrin top team

Budvanska Rivijera Budva OK Budvanska Rivijera Budva was a professional volleyball team based in Budva, Montenegro, founded in 1978. It played in the Montenegrin Volleyball League. The club was dissolved in 2017. History The club was founded in 1978 as Avala Budva and ...

. He left the team in December and joined his compatriots Raimo Pajusalu and Keith Pupart in the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

team

Rennes Volley 35 Rennes (; ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany region and Ille-et-Vilaine department. In 2021, its urban ar ...

. For the 2013–14 season Venno signed with Prikamye Perm of the

Russian Volleyball Super League The Russian Volleyball Super League (RVSL) () is the top league of Russian professional volleyball. It was founded in 1992, and it is considered to be the continuer of the Soviet top league, founded in 1933. Winners of the Soviet championship * ...

. In June 2014 Venno moved to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and signed a deal with local powerhouse

Hypo Tirol Innsbruck Hypo Tirol Innsbruck is a professional volleyball team based in Innsbruck, Austria. It will play in the Austrian Volley League, until its dissolution after the 2024/2025 season has ended. 2024–25 Team Honours *Austrian Volley League: 2005, ...

. With Hypo Tirol team he won the Austrian League without losing a single game during the season. He also added a second

win to his account.

Turkish clubs

In July 2015 Venno signed with Ziraat Bankası Ankara of the

Turkish Men's Volleyball League Efeler Ligi, known for sponsorship reasons as AXA Sigorta Efeler Ligi, is the highest professional men's volleyball league in Turkey. It is run by the Turkish Volleyball Federation. Founded in 1970, the league is considered one of the top nation ...

. For the next season he moved to another

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

-based team Maliye Milli Piyango. Venno was the top scorer of the league and helped his team to 5th-place finish. Venno stayed with the team for another season and helped Maliye Piyango to the final of the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

for the first time in the club's history as they lost to

Halkbank Ankara Halkbank Ankara is a professional men's volleyball team based in Ankara, Turkey and sponsored by the state-owned Halkbank. It was founded on 21 July 1983 as Halkbank Spor Kulübü with blue, white and red colo ...

with the score 2–3. Venno and Maliye Piyango also reached to the semi-finals of the

2017–18 CEV Challenge Cup The 2017–18 CEV Challenge Cup was the 38th edition of the CEV Challenge Cup The CEV Challenge Cup is the third tier official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition started in the 1980–81 season u ...

where they lost to eventual winner Bunge Ravenna in the golden set. In May 2018 Venno signed with one of the top Turkish teams, Galatasaray İstanbul. Venno and Galatasaray played in the final of the

2018–19 CEV Cup The 2018–19 CEV Cup was the 47th edition of the European CEV Cup volleyball club tournament. Participating teams The number of participants on the basis of ranking list for European Cup Competitions: Main Phase 32nd Finals ...

where they lost to Italian team Diatec Trentino. Venno was the Best Scorer of the competition totaling 190 points in 10 matches. He stayed with Galatasaray for the next season and started off with the

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 ...

title. However, the season was cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, which forced to cancel all competitions.

Qatari clubs

After five years in Turkey Venno signed with

Police SC Qatar Police Volleyball ( طائرة السد) is a professional volleyball team based in Doha, Qatar. It competes in the Qatari Volleyball League. Honors 1 official championships. Domestic * Qatari Volleyball League, Qatar Volleyball League :: Winn ...

of the

in June 2020. He helped the team win two consecutive league titles and the 2022 Gulf Clubs Championship, where he was named MVP of the tournament. In 2022 Police SC Qatar also won their first

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...

with Venno scoring 41 points on the final against Al Arabi. After two seasons with Police SC Qatar Venno signed with another Qatari top team

. Al Rayyan won the inaugural West Asia Men's Club Volleyball Championship after defeating

Kuwait SC Kuwait Sports Club () is a Kuwaiti professional football club based in Kuwait City. Their football team has won Kuwait Premier League 19 times and has won over 50 trophies overall. The club plays in the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium located i ...

3–0 in the final with Venno scoring 19 points. He was also named the best opposite hitter of the tournament. The season was also successful domestically as Venno helped Al Rayyan win the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

and the

. In February 2024 Al Rayyan won the West Asian Men's Volleyball Championship for the second consecutive time, once again defeating Al Kuwait SC 3–0 in the final and Venno was named MVP of the tournament.

National team

Oliver Venno represented the Estonian youth teams in the U16, U18 and U20 level. He is a member of the Estonian national team since 2008 and has represented his country at the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Men's European Volleyball Championship The Men's European Volleyball Championship (''EuroVolley'') is the official competition for senior men's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). The initial gap between championships was va ...

s. With the national team Venno also won the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

European Volleyball League European Volleyball League may refer to * Men's European Volleyball League * Women's European Volleyball League The Women's European Volleyball League is a continental volleyball competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, ...

titles. Venno has also successfully represented Estonia in

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

. Together with

Kristo Kollo Kristo Kollo (born 17 January 1990) is an Estonian volleyball and beach volleyball player who currently plays for Cypriot club Pafiakos Paphos. He also represents the Estonian national team internationally. As a member of the senior Estonia m ...

he won the U18 Beach European Championship in 2007 and U19 Beach World Championship in 2008.Under-19 MEN World Championships
FIVB. Retrieved on 22.04.2011.

Sporting achievements

Clubs

;

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed to CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 to CEV Cup. T ...

2018/2019 - with Galatasaray İstanbul ;

MEVZA League The Middle European League or MEVZA League is a regional volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under ...

2009/2010 – with

2014/2015 – with

;

2007/2008 – with

2008/2009 – with

;

GCC Volleyball Club Championship The GCC Volleyball Club Championship is a sports competition for club volleyball teams, currently held annually and organized by the Gulf Volleyball Association by the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Results * In 1982, the competi ...

2022 – with

;West Asia Men's Club Volleyball Championship * Gold medal with cup

2023 – with

2024 – with

2025 – with

;National championship * 2006/2007 Silver medal with cup

Estonian Championship, with

* 2007/2008 Silver medal with cup

Estonian Championship, with

* 2008/2009 Silver medal with cup

Estonian Championship, with

* 2009/2010 Gold medal with cup

Slovenian Championship The Slovenian Hockey League () or the National Championship () is the highest level ice hockey league in Slovenia. The championship phase is contested after the regular season to determine the national champion. History The Slovenian Hockey Le ...

, with

* 2010/2011 Gold medal with cup

German Championship, with

* 2014/2015 Gold medal with cup

Austrian Championship, with

* 2018/2019 Bronze medal with cup

Turkish Championship Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The wor ...

, with Galatasaray İstanbul * 2019/2020 Gold medal with cup

Qatari Championship, with

* 2020/2021 Gold medal with cup

Qatari Championship, with

* 2021/2022 Silver medal with cup

Qatari Championship, with

* 2022/2023 Gold medal with cup

Qatari Championship, with

* 2023/2024 Silver medal with cup

Qatari Championship, with

* 2024/2025 Gold medal with cup

Qatari Championship, with

;National cup * 2006/2007 Simple silver cup

Estonian Cup, with

* 2007/2008 Simple silver cup

Estonian Cup, with

* 2008/2009 Simple gold cup

Estonian Cup, with

* 2009/2010 Simple gold cup

Slovenian Cup, with

* 2010/2011 Simple silver cup

, with

* 2011/2012 Simple gold cup

, with

* 2017/2018 Simple silver cup

, with Maliye Milli Piyango * 2018/2019 Simple silver cup

, with Galatasaray İstanbul * 2019/2020 Simple gold cup

, with Galatasaray İstanbul * 2020/2021 Simple silver cup

Qatari Cup, with

* 2021/2022 Simple gold cup

Emir Cup, with

* 2022/2023 Simple gold cup

Emir Cup, with

National team

* 2016

European League * 2018 Gold medal with cup

European League * 2018 Bronze medal with cup

Challenger Cup * 2021 Bronze medal with cup

European League

Individual

* 2008 ''Young Estonian Volleyball Player of the Year'' * 2009 ''Young Estonian Volleyball Player of the Year'' * 2010 ''Estonian Volleyball Player of the Year'' * 2011 ''Estonian Volleyball Player of the Year'' * 2018 European League – Best outside hitter * 2019

– Best scorer * 2021 ''Estonian Volleyball Player of the Year'' * 2022

– Most valuable player * 2023 West Asia Men's Club Volleyball Championship – Best opposite hitter * 2024 West Asia Men's Club Volleyball Championship – Most valuable player * 2025 West Asia Men's Club Volleyball Championship – Best Scorer

References

External links