223 articles
Lyudmila Borozna
Lyudmila Borozna (Людмила Борозна, later Zhigily), Soviet volleyball attacker born 1954 in Leningrad; Olympic champion 1972 in Munich, 1973 World Cup winner, 1974/1978 world medalist, 1977 European champion.
Lyudmila Buldakova
Lyudmila Buldakova (Людмила Степановна Булдакова), Soviet volleyball setter and captain, born 1938 Leningrad, died 2006 Moscow; two Olympic golds (1968, 1972), three world titles, Hall of Fame 2012.
Lyudmila Mikhaylovskaya
Lyudmila Mikhaylovskaya (Людмила Николаевна Михайловская, born 1937, Leningrad) is a Soviet volleyball setter, 1968 Olympic gold medalist, world champion 1960 and 1970; distinct from the Ukrainian figure skating referee Liudmyla Mykhaylivska (1947-2019).
Magalys Carvajal
Magalys Carvajal (Magalys Esther Carvajal Rivera, born 1968, Havana) is a retired Cuban middle blocker who won Olympic volleyball gold at Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, plus the 1994 World Championship, and entered the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Maksim Mikhaylov
Maksim Mikhaylov (Максим Михайлович Михайлов), born 1988, Russian opposite spiker; Olympic gold London 2012, silver Tokyo 2020, bronze Beijing 2008; Zenit Kazan club player.
Marc Waldie
Marc Waldie (Marc Robert Waldie), born 1955 in Wichita, Kansas, American volleyball player; Ohio State All-American and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold medalist with the US men's national team.
Marcelo Negrao
Marcelo Negrão (Marcelo Teles Negrão), Brazilian volleyball opposite born 1972 in São Paulo; Barcelona 1992 Olympic champion whose serve sealed Brazil's first team-sport gold, FIVB world player 1993, later coach of Norde Vôlei.
Marek Karbarz
Marek Karbarz, Polish volleyball player born 1950 in Charzewice, Olympic gold medalist Montreal 1976 and 1974 world champion with Hubert Wagner's team; 218 caps, Resovia and Hutnik Kraków player, later coach in France and Poland.
Mariko Okamoto
Mariko Okamoto (岡本真理子, later Nakano Mariko), born 1951 in Osaka, Japanese volleyball player; silver at Munich 1972, gold and team captain at Montreal 1976, plus 1974 World Championship and Asian Games titles.
Mariko Yoshida
Mariko Yoshida (吉田真理子), born 1954 in Saitama, Japanese volleyball player, Olympic gold medalist in women's volleyball at Montreal 1976 and 1978 World Championship silver medalist; distinct from the joshi professional wrestler of the same name.
Marina Kumysh
Marina Kumysh (Марина Евгеньевна Кумыш), born 1964 in Moscow, is a Soviet volleyball player, CSKA Moskva, who won gold in women's volleyball at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1985 European Championship.
Marina Lubian
Marina Lubian (born 2000, Moncalieri) is an Italian middle blocker, Olympic gold medalist at Paris 2024, VNL champion 2022 and 2024, world silver 2018, and a multi-title player for Imoco Conegliano.
Marina Nikulina Pankova
Marina Nikulina-Pankova (Марина Анатольевна Никулина-Панкова), Soviet and Russian volleyball setter; Olympic gold 1988, silver 1992; 1990 world and 1991, 1993 European champion; mother of Yekaterina Kosyanenko.
Marlenis Costa
Marlenis Costa (Marlenis Costa Blanco), Cuban setter born 1973 in La Palma, Pinar del Río; three-time Olympic volleyball champion with Cuba (1992, 1996, 2000) and world champion 1994 and 1998.
Masako Kondo
Masako Kondo (近藤雅子), born 1941 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japanese volleyball player; won gold with Nichibo Kaizuka's Japan team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and two 1962 Jakarta Asian Games golds. Not the snowboarder Kokone Kondo.
Masayuki Minami
Masayuki Minami (南 将之), 1941-2000, Japanese middle-blocker volleyball player for Asahi Chemical who won Olympic bronze 1964, silver 1968, and gold 1972 with Japan, plus 1970 Worlds bronze and Asian Games golds.
Michelle Bartsch Hackley
Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (Michelle Elizabeth Bartsch-Hackley), American outside hitter born 1990 in Kansas City, Kansas; Illinois alum, Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist (first U.S. women's indoor volleyball gold), 2018 and 2021 VNL MVP, now Ohio State assistant coach.
Mike van de Goor
Mike van de Goor, born in 1973 in Oss, is a retired Dutch volleyball player who won Olympic gold at Atlanta 1996 and played in three Olympics.
Mireya Luis
Mireya Luis (Alejandrina Mireya Luis Hernández), Cuban volleyball outside hitter born 1967 in Camagüey; captained Cuba to three straight Olympic golds (1992, 1996, 2000), two world titles, Hall of Fame 2004, now FIVB Executive Vice-President.
Miriam Sylla
Miriam Sylla (Myriam Fatime Sylla, born 1995, Palermo) is an Italian volleyball outside hitter; Olympic gold Paris 2024, World gold 2025, three VNL titles, European gold 2021, clubs including Imoco Conegliano and Galatasaray.
Mirka Francis
Mirka Francis, full name Mirka Francia Vasconcelos, is a Cuban-Italian volleyball player who won Olympic gold with Cuba in 1996 and 2000 and two world titles.
Mirosław Rybaczewski
Mirosław Rybaczewski ("Ryba"), Polish volleyball player born 1952 in Warsaw; 167 caps, 1974 World Champion and 1976 Montreal Olympic gold medalist with AZS Olsztyn, later player-coach in France.
Nalbert
Nalbert (Nalbert Tavares Bitencourt, born 1974, Rio de Janeiro), Brazilian wing spiker and "eternal captain" of the men's national team; first player to win youth, junior, and senior volleyball world titles; Olympic gold Athens 2004; Hall of Fame 2014.
Natalia Zilio
Natália Zilio Pereira (Natália Zilio), Brazilian outside hitter born 1989 in Ponta Grossa; Olympic gold London 2012 and silver Tokyo 2020 with Brazil; national team 2005-21; 2017 Grand Prix MVP; 2024-25 Superliga MVP with Osasco.
Nataliya Razumova
Nataliya Razumova (Наталья Разумова), later known as Nataliya Starshova, is a Russian former volleyball player who won a gold medal for the Soviet Union at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Nina Smoleyeva
Nina Smoleyeva (Нина Николаевна Смолеева, born Nina Nikitina, 1948) is a Soviet volleyball attacker, double Olympic champion (1968, 1972) and 1976 silver medalist, 1970 world champion, four-time European champion, and 2006 Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee.
Norka Latamblet
Norka Latamblet (Norka Latamblet Daudinot), Cuban volleyball player born 1963 in Guantánamo; Olympic gold at Barcelona 1992, Pan American Games golds 1983, 1987, 1991, later a coach of Cuba's women's national team.
Oleg Moliboga
Oleg Moliboga (Олег Алексеевич Молибога) was a Soviet volleyball player, born in Ukraine in 1953, who won Olympic gold at Moscow 1980 and silver at Montreal 1976.
Oļegs Antropovs
Oļegs Antropovs (Oleg Petrovich Antropov, Олег Петрович Антропов), Latvian volleyball player and coach for the USSR; Olympic gold 1968 Mexico City, USSR champion 1969, later coached Russia and JT Thunders Hiroshima; died 2023.
Olga Krivosheyeva
Olga Krivosheyeva (Ольга Юрьевна Кривошеева), born 1961, Kazakh volleyball player for Spartak and ADK Almaty; won gold with the Soviet Union in women's volleyball at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and European titles in 1985 and 1987.