15 Best Volleyball Players in the World
Volleyball is one of the most liked sports in the current era. It is the type of sport you can indulge in while playing and even while watching.
So today, we will be listing the top 15 best volleyball players in the world.
Volleyball players are similar to any other athletes. They train their bodies and mind to play the game.
Some elite players control the momentum and flow of the game with their extraordinary volleyball skills.
15 Best Volleyball Players in the World
15. Dmitry Volkov
At the number 15 on our list is the star from Russia, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Volkov, one of the best volleyball players.
Volkov is one of the best Russian outside hitters, and he is currently on the Russian men’s national volleyball team.
In the national league, Dmitry plays for Fakel Novy Urengoy.
He started strong from his youth days and won three FIVB world championship awards and one CEV European championship.
Throughout his career, Volkov has won the Best Outside Spiker award seven times.
14. Srecko Lisinac
Srecko Lisinac is a Serbian volleyball player who plays for the Italian volleyball club Itas Trentino.
Before joining the Italian club, Lisinac played for a German team named Berlin Recycling Volleys.
With this team, he managed to become the German league champion.
Next, he moved on to the Polish league for the team PGE Skra Bełchatów, and with this team, he won the Polish championships.
For his national team, he has won a bronze medal at the European Championship 2013.
And in 2015, he managed to achieve a silver medal at the World League.
Srecko is known as one of the best middle blockers globally, and he has won around five best middle blocker awards.
13. Pawel Zatorski
Coming at number 13 on the list is the libero of the Polish national team, Pawel Zatorski.
Zatorski is a polish volleyball legend and is one of the best liberos in the world.
Pawel is a two-time world champion, gold medallist of the 2012 World League, Champions League winner of this year and, five-time Polish Champion.
All these awards speak for themselves in proving his achievements in volleyball.
Zatorski has won the best defender and best libero award seven times in his career.
12. Yoandy Leal Hidalgo
Hidalgo Leal Hidalgo is a Cuban-born Brazilian professional volleyball player who is known for his outside hitting abilities.
Hidalgo is one of the players who has played for two national teams.
He started as a Cuban national team player but eventually retired from the team and joined the Brazil men’s national volleyball team.
The player currently plays for the Brazilian national team.
Leal is a six-time Brazilian champion and one-time Italian Champion.
He is the recipient of gold medals in the NORCECA Championship, FIVB World Cup, FIVB Nations League, and CSV South American Championship.
He has also received awards for Best Server, Best outside spiker, and best spiker in various tournaments.
11. Earvin N’Gapeth
Next on our list is the Outside hitter of the French National team, Earvin N’Gapeth, one of the best volleyball players.
Earvin currently plays for the French national team and the Italian club Modena Volley.
The Frenchman is the 2015 European Champion, Two times World League gold medallist, French Champion (2010), and Italian Champion (2016).
In his youth days, he won the CEV European championships for three consecutive years.
With a career of over a decade, Earvin is known as one of the best outside spikers in the world right now.
10. Nimir Abdel-Aziz
On number 10 of our list, we have a Dutch volleyball player, Nimir Abdel-Aziz.
He is currently a member of the National Netherlands team, and he also plays the Italian club Trentino Valley.
One of his best career highlights is winning the 2012 European League.
He plays in the opposite position and is a great server as well.
For his win in the 2012 league, Nimir was awarded the best setter and Best server award.
9. Tsvetan Sokolov
Next on the list is the Bulgarian opposite, Tsvetan Sokolov, one of the best volleyball players.
Sokolov is part of the Bulgaria men’s national volleyball team and Russian club Dynamo Moscow.
Sokolov is one of the representatives of Bulgaria in the Olympic Games London 2012.
Also, he is the bronze medallist of the 2009 European Championship.
Alongside those achievements, he is also the winner of the Champions League and Club World Championship.
As for the national leagues, he has won it thrice in Italy, once in Turkey, and once in Russia.
Over the years, he has consistently become one of the Best Opposite Spiker in the world.
8. Micah Christenson
Next on our list is the American volleyball player Micah Makanamaikalani Christenson. He is one of the best volleyball players.
Christenson is currently a member of the United States men’s national volleyball team and Russian club Zenit Kazan.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Micah led his team to third place. He claimed the bronze medal for his country.
His other achievements include being a gold medalist of the 2014 World League, 2015 World Cup, and the 2013 NORCECA Champion.
The volleyball player is one of the best setters in the world right now and has won over five best setter wards in his career.
7. Dmitriy Muserskiy
Coming at number 7 on the list is another Russian superstar, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Muserskiy. Despite being of Ukrainian descent, Dmitriy plays for the Russian team.
Muserskiy is part of the Russian men’s national volleyball team and a Japanese club called Suntory Sunbirds.
Standing at 7 ft and 2 inches, he is one of the tallest athletes globally and probably the tallest volleyball player in the world.
His height is absolutely ridiculous, and with that advantage, he crushes his opponents from his scary spikes.
He is the 2012 Olympic Champion, 2013 European Champion, gold medalist of the 2011 World Cup, and multiple World League medalist.
He has won the best middle blocker award several times.
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6. Jenia Grebennikov
Coming at number six is the French Libero, Jenia Grebennikov.
Jenia is of Russian descent but plays for the French national team and Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg.
He is the 2015 European Champion and two-time gold medalist at the world league.
Grebennikov has also been phenomenal in the FIVB Nations League, but unfortunately, he has not won a gold medal.
Instead, he has a silver and bronze medal in the FIVb nations won a gold medal, the best libero award, a total of 12 times.
5. Osmany Juantorena
Osmany Juantorena is a Cuban-born Italian volleyball player.
He is another one of the players who has played for two different nations.
Osmany was part of the Cuban team for four years but retired and joined the Italian National volleyball team.
He also currently plays for the Italian club Cucine Lube Civitanova.
Juantorena is one of the best outside hitters globally, and he has proven himself several times.
Furthermore, he achieved the bronze medal in the 2005 World League and the silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Besides those, he has won the CEV Champions League and FIVB Club World Championship several times.
4. Robertlandy Simón
Coming at number 4 on our list is the Cuban Middle blocker, Robertlandy Simon.
Simon is a part of the Cuba men’s national volleyball team and the Italian club Cucine Lube Civitanova.
Simon once retired from the Cuban team around 2010 due to some complications, but he joined the national team again in 2019 after nine years.
He is the 2009 NORCECA Champion, 2010 World Championship silver medalist, and a two-time South Korean champion.
Moreover, the player has won cups and league titles in four different countries; Italy, Cuba, South Korea, and Brazil.
Simon has won several awards as the best blocker, best middle blocker, and best spiker throughout his career.
3. Bruno Rezende
Bruno Mossa de Rezende is a Brazilian volleyball player who plays at the setter position.
Rezende is one of the World’s best setters, and currently, he plays for the Brazil men’s national volleyball team and Italian club Funvic.
He has a great record at the Olympic games. He started with two silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but finally, in the 2016 Olympics, he won the gold medal.
Besides the Olympics, Bruno is also the 2010 World Champion, double gold medalist of the World Grand Champions Cup, and four-time South American Champion.
Moreover, the player has won the Brazilian championships six times and the Italian championships twice.
In his career, he has won the best setter award 14 times.
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2. Maxim Mikhaylov
Next, as the second-best volleyball player globally, we have Maxim Mihaylov, a Russian opposite.
Maxim is a member of the Russian men’s national volleyball team and Russian club VC Zenit-Kazan.
He is an Olympic Gold Medalist. The Russian opposite won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
Next, Maxim is a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 and a gold medalist at the World Cup 2011.
Moreover, the player is also the two-time European Champion and winner of several other titles.
He is one of the most versatile players globally and has won awards in various game positions, from the best spiker to best blocker.
1. Wilfredo Leon Venero
On the top of the list, we have the undisputed king of the volleyball world, Wilfredo Leon Venero, a Polish-Cuban outside hitter.
Surprisingly, Wilfredo played for two different countries.
Wilfredo used to be part of the Cuban national team but left the team and joined the Polish national team.
Besides his national team, he is part of the Italian club, Sir Safety Perugia.
Moreover, this player was always one of the best in the game and was claimed to be one of a kind as he led Cuba in the finals of the World Volleyball Championships in 2010.
Wilfredo Leon has won the silver medal at the 2010 World Championship, NORCECA Championship two-time, Cuban Championship three-time, and Russian Championship four-time.
Moreover, the player holds the record for fastest serve in the world. It was recorded at 138 km/h serve speed.
