Karch Kiraly ’83

2006 Blue and Gold Week Parade grand marshal Karch Kiraly ’83 is the only player to win Olympic gold in both beach and indoor volleyball - earning a total of three gold medals. (He shares grand marshal duties with Sue Enquist ’80.) Kiraly is the most decorated athlete and legend of his sport. He has devoted much of his life to indoor and outdoor volleyball, and placing in almost every event he has entered.

Getting an early start from his father, who taught him the skills of volleyball, Karch went on to play for the Junior National Team in high school. While a biochemistry student at UCLA in the early 1980s, Kiraly led the Bruin volleyball team to three NCAA titles as an All-American team player. In the summer Olympics of 1984 and 1988, he won gold medals for Team USA as both setter and hitter, and the International Volleyball Federation subsequently declared him the “Best Player in the World” in 1986 and 1988. In 1992, Kiraly was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame where his jersey was retired.

At the age of 45, Kiraly continues to compete and beat players half his age. He has won 24 out of the 27 seasons played, and to date, his titles include 2002 AVP Best Defensive Player, 1990 AVP Best Offensive Player, 1997 AVP Comeback Player of the Year, 1990-94 AVP Most Valuable Player AVP Sportsman of the Year, and the 2004 AVP Outstanding Achievement.