April Ross
Encyclopedia
April Elizabeth Ross is an American professional beach volleyball
player.
on June 20, 1982 to Glen and the late Margie Ross. She has a sister, Amy.
Ross grew up in Newport Beach, California
where she attended Newport Harbor High School
. At NHHS, in addition to lettering in track, she was a star indoor volleyball player, eventually becoming the nation's top recruit for her graduating class. She won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award as a senior and was the California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF) Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999. In her senior season, she notched 624 kills and 526 digs. She played club volleyball for Orange County Volleyball Club for five years. She also played on the U.S. Junior National Team. She is 6ft1in tall.
in Los Angeles, California
, where in her freshman season she was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as the National Freshman of the Year. In her freshman season in 2000, she received Pac-10 First Team honors as well as AVCA Second Team All-America honors. She helped USC to the NCAA Final Four.
As a sophomore in 2001, she was a second team All American and finished the season ranked fourth in Pac-10 in kills (3.98 kpg), sixth in points (4.52 ppg) and seventh in digs (3.04 dpg) and helped USC to the NCAA Regional Finals, when she suffered a sprained ankle during game two and was forced to leave the match.
In her final two seasons, she helped USC to back-to-back NCAA Titles
. In 2002, she was named a First Team All-American and had 15 kills and 14 digs in the NCAA Championship win over Stanford, avenging their only loss of the season to the Cardinal. In 2003, she repeated as a First Team All-American, and helped USC to an undefeated season after defeating Florida in the NCAA championship match. Ross had 14 kills and 19 digs in the winning effort.
She finished her career among USC's all-time career record-holders, ranking in the top 6 in eight statistical categories, including first in points (1,430) and points per game, second in service aces (161) and service aces per game (0.38), fourth in attacks (3,859), fifth in kills (1576), kills per game (3.73) and digs (1,296) and sixth in digs per game (3.06).
during the Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008
, they finished in third place at the ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger, second place at the Dubai
Open and first place at the Phuket Thailand Open, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player. On September 5, 2008, Ross and Boss upset the World No. 1 duo of Misty May-Treanor
and Kerri Walsh
at an AVP tournament in Santa Barbara, California
.
Ross has three 1st place finishes overall, as well as $351,413 in prize money.
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
player.
Early life
Ross was born in Costa Mesa, CaliforniaCosta Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
on June 20, 1982 to Glen and the late Margie Ross. She has a sister, Amy.
Ross grew up in Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
where she attended Newport Harbor High School
Newport Harbor High School
Newport Harbor High School is a public high school in Newport Beach, in Orange County, California, in the United States. It is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.-History:...
. At NHHS, in addition to lettering in track, she was a star indoor volleyball player, eventually becoming the nation's top recruit for her graduating class. She won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award as a senior and was the California Interscholastic Federation
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
(CIF) Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999. In her senior season, she notched 624 kills and 526 digs. She played club volleyball for Orange County Volleyball Club for five years. She also played on the U.S. Junior National Team. She is 6ft1in tall.
College
Ross attended the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where in her freshman season she was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as the National Freshman of the Year. In her freshman season in 2000, she received Pac-10 First Team honors as well as AVCA Second Team All-America honors. She helped USC to the NCAA Final Four.
As a sophomore in 2001, she was a second team All American and finished the season ranked fourth in Pac-10 in kills (3.98 kpg), sixth in points (4.52 ppg) and seventh in digs (3.04 dpg) and helped USC to the NCAA Regional Finals, when she suffered a sprained ankle during game two and was forced to leave the match.
In her final two seasons, she helped USC to back-to-back NCAA Titles
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...
. In 2002, she was named a First Team All-American and had 15 kills and 14 digs in the NCAA Championship win over Stanford, avenging their only loss of the season to the Cardinal. In 2003, she repeated as a First Team All-American, and helped USC to an undefeated season after defeating Florida in the NCAA championship match. Ross had 14 kills and 19 digs in the winning effort.
She finished her career among USC's all-time career record-holders, ranking in the top 6 in eight statistical categories, including first in points (1,430) and points per game, second in service aces (161) and service aces per game (0.38), fourth in attacks (3,859), fifth in kills (1576), kills per game (3.73) and digs (1,296) and sixth in digs per game (3.06).
AVP
In 2008, with her beach partner Jennifer BossJennifer Boss
Jennifer "Jen" Kessy is an American beach volleyball player who plays professionally on the Nivea AVP Tour. She won the AVP Most Improved Player award in 2004. Kessy competed with Olympian Barb Fontana in 2004 and Olympic Bronze Medalist Holly McPeak in 2005. Currently, she plays with fellow USC...
during the Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008
Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008
The Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008 is an international beach volleyball competition.The tour consists of 15 tournaments with both genders and 9 separate gender tournaments....
, they finished in third place at the ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger, second place at the Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
Open and first place at the Phuket Thailand Open, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player. On September 5, 2008, Ross and Boss upset the World No. 1 duo of Misty May-Treanor
Misty May-Treanor
Misty Erie May-Treanor is an American professional volleyball player. She has won more tournaments than any other female player with 107 career wins....
and Kerri Walsh
Kerri Walsh
Kerri Lee Walsh-Jennings is an American professional beach volleyball player.Walsh-Jennings and teammate Misty May-Treanor were the gold medalists in beach volleyball at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics...
at an AVP tournament in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
.
Ross has three 1st place finishes overall, as well as $351,413 in prize money.