Paola Egonu

Paola Egonu
Egonu in 2018
Personal information
Full namePaola Ogechi Egonu
Born (1998-12-18) 18 December 1998
Cittadella, Italy
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Spike3.44 m (135 in)
Block3.21 m (126 in)
Volleyball information
PositionOpposite
Current club Vero Volley Milano[2]
Career
YearsTeams
2013–2017 Club Italia
2017–2019 AGIL Novara
2019–2022 Imoco Volley Conegliano
2022–2023 VakıfBank S.K.
2023– Vero Volley Milano
National team
2015– Italy
Honours
Women's volleyball
Representing  Italy
Olympic Games
2024 Paris Team
FIVB World Championship
2025 Thailand Team
2018 Japan Team
2022 Poland/Netherlands Team
FIVB Nations League
2022 Ankara Team
2024 Bangkok Team
2025 Łódź Team
FIVB World Grand Prix
2017 Nanjing
European Championship
2021 Serbia/Bulgaria/Croatia/Romania Team
2019 Turkey Team
Montreux Volley Masters
2018 Switzerland Team
FIVB Volleyball Girls' U18 World Championship
2015 Peru Team

Paola Ogechi Egonu (Italian: [ˈpaːola oˈɡɛːtʃi eˈɡɔːnu]; born 18 December 1998) is an Italian professional volleyball player.[3] She plays as an opposite for both the Italian Women's National Team, and the Italian Club, Vero Volley Milano in the A1 division of the Lega Volley Femminile.

Early and personal life

Egonu was born in Cittadella, Veneto, to Nigerian parents.[4][5] She has two siblings, Angela and Andrea. Her cousin, Terry Enweonwu, also plays volleyball.[6][7]

Career

National team

After receiving Italian citizenship at the age of fourteen, Egonu made her Italian national team debut in 2015.[8] That year, she was named MVP of the U18 World Championship after leading her team to gold. Later that year, she also led Italy to bronze at the U20 World Championship.[9] Just one year later, at the age of 17, she was selected to the 12-person roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Italy finished in 9th place.[10]

In 2018, Egonu helped her team win silver at the 2018 World Championship in Japan. She finished the tournament with 324 points in 13 matches, averaging nearly 25 points per match. Additionally, Egonu set a new record for most points scored in a match, with 45 points scored in the semifinals versus China.[11]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Egonu was a flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony.[11] Italy placed sixth after losing to Serbia in the quarterfinals.[12]

In 2022, Egonu and the Italian national team earned Italy's first-ever medal at the Volleyball Nations League, where they won gold. Egonu was the leading scorer of the finals, amassing a total of 83 points over three matches. She was named Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite of the tournament.[13]

Egonu took a break from playing with Italy's national team due to racism she experienced in Italy and on social media.[8] She returned to playing with Italy in 2024 under new coach Julio Velasco.[14] That year, Egonu led Italy to repeat its 2022 performance at the Volleyball Nations League, where she once again earned MVP. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Italy won its first-ever gold medal, with Egonu being named MVP and Best Opposite.[15][16]

In August 2024, a newly-unveiled mural of Egonu near to the Italian National Olympic Committee headquarters in Rome was defaced, with Egonu's skin repainted pink and an anti-racism message obscured. Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani described the vandalism as a "serious gesture of vulgar racism", while Roberto Gualtieri, the Mayor of Rome, said it was "a vile insult to a great Italian, who has brought the colours of our country to the top of the world, and to an artist committed to fighting against xenophobia."[17]

Professional clubs

At the club level, Egonu has primarily played in Italian clubs; she played for Club Italia in 2015, AGIL Novara from 2017 to 2019, and Imoco Volley Conegliano from 2019 to 2022. She spent the 2022–2023 season playing for Turkish club VakifBank before returning to Italy to play for Vero Volley Milano in 2023.[18] With AGIL Novara, Egonu earned a CEV Champions League title, two Italian Cups, and one Super Cup. She won the Club World Championship with Imoco Volley in 2019 and the CEV Champions League in 2023 with Vakifbank.[11][19]

As of 2024, Egonu holds women's volleyball records for highest jump, fastest serve, and fastest spike.[20]

Other ventures

In 2020, she dubbed the character Dreamerwind (Italian: Sognaluna Dibrezza), originally voiced by Cathy Cavadini, for the Italian version of the animation movie Soul, produced by Disney and Pixar.[21]

She co-presented the Italian show Le Iene in its 2020–2021 season.[22] She appeared as a co-presenter at the Sanremo Music Festival 2023 with festival host Amadeus and singer Gianni Morandi.[23]

Awards and honours

Clubs

Individuals

Honours

References

  1. ^ "Paola Egonu » kulüpler". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  2. ^ "PTUR W: Paola Egonu returns to Italy, joins Vero Volley". volleyballworld. Volleyball World. 2023-07-29. Archived from the original on 2023-07-29. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Paola, Sara e Valentina: è colorata la nuova Italia del volley femminile". Corriere.it. Eleonora Cozzari. 2016-01-07. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  4. ^ Cozzari, Eleonora (7 January 2016). "Paola, Sara e Valentina: è colorata la nuova Italia del volley femminile" (in Italian). Bergamo: Corriere della Sera. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  5. ^ Morvillo, Candida (3 November 2018). "Paola Egonu: 'Le mie lacrime in Giappone e la lezione della mia fidanzata'" [Paola Egonu]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Paola Egonu: "Schiaccio anche il razzismo. Il futuro? Da avvocato"". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). 2017-06-20. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  7. ^ "Volley femminile, Europei U18 - L'Italia piange in Finale, la maledizione continua: la Russia trionfa al tie-break, argento per Enweonwu e compagne". OA Sport (in Italian). 2017-04-09. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  8. ^ a b Al Jazeera Staff. "'They're going to come at you': Paola Egonu on racism and volleyball". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  9. ^ "Paola Egonu – FIVB". 31 August 2020. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  10. ^ Andracki • •, Tony (2016-08-13). "Meet the 17-Year-Old Volleyball Phenom Who Is Taking World by Storm". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
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  12. ^ "Serbia sweeps Italy 3-0, advances to play USA in semifinals | NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
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  21. ^ "Volley, Paola Egonu protagonista nel nuovo film della Disney: sarà la voce di Sognaluna in Soul". OA Sport (in Italian). 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
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  41. ^ "Kadınlar AXA Sigorta Kupa Voley'de Madalya, Kupa ve Ödüller Sahiplerini Buldu". tvf.org.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
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