Beverly Oden
Personal information
Full nameBeverly Jean Oden
NicknameBev
NationalityAmerican
BornMarch 9, 1971 (1971-03-09) (age 52)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
College / UniversityStanford University
Volleyball information
PositionMiddle blocker
Number7
National team
1992-1996 United States
Honours
Women’s volleyball
Representing the  United States
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place 1994 Saint Petersburg Team
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1995 Mar del Plata Team

Beverly ("Bev") Oden (born March 9, 1971, in Millington, Tennessee) is a former volleyball player from the United States. She played middle blocker for the United States women's national volleyball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[1]

Among her achievements, Oden helped the United States win silver medals at the 1994 Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg, Russia and the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina.[1]

College

Oden played volleyball for Stanford University as a middle blocker and was named the 1990 NCAA Player of the Year.[2][3] Oden was the first to be named to the AVCA All-America first-team all four years of her collegiate eligibility (1989–1992).[4] In 1991, she won the Honda-Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate volleyball player.[5]

In 2001, Oden was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.[6]

Personal life

Oden's sisters, Kim and Elaina, were also Olympians who played on the United States national volleyball team.[3]

Oden made the news in 2007 when she was held in custody by Orange County sheriff deputies near her hometown of Irvine, California in relation to a reported incident.[7] She was released after being questioned and spending an hour and a half inside a police car.[7] She was found to have no connection with the incident in question, and her ordeal prompted local community leaders to form the Oden Commission to hold discussions on racial profiling between residents and law enforcement.[7][8]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b "Beverly Oden". Olympedia. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "Women's Volleyball All-America Teams and Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Bev Oden". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Stanford's Bev Oden Is All-American for Fourth Year in Row". Los Angeles Times. December 17, 1992. Retrieved August 4, 2023. (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Volleyball". Collegiate Women Sports Awards. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  6. ^ "Bev Oden". Gostanford.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Pearlman, Jeff (February 15, 2007). "Wrong color at the wrong time". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Chang, Richard (November 4, 2007). "Group meets law enforcement to discuss race". The Orange County Register. Retrieved May 14, 2008. (subscription required)

External links

1996 USA Olympic Volleyball Team (Men's beach - Gold & Silver medals)
Honda Sports Award
Categories