Haleigh Washington, Micha Hancock Help USA Volleyball Earn Silver At Paris Olympics

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State greats Haleigh Washington and Micha Hancock medaled for the second time as Olympians at the 2024 Paris Games, helping USA volleyball take home silver Sunday after claiming the country’s first gold in indoor women’s volleyball in Tokyo in 2021.

Washington started all six matches for the U.S. women’s national team, which finished the tournament 4-2 after being swept by Italy in the championship. The Italian team, led by MVP and Best Opposite Hitter Paola Egonu, turned in a dominant performance in Paris, losing only one set and winning their final 17 in a row.

Hancock was named the official alternate for the U.S. heading into this year’s Olympics and was activated to the roster in place of an injured Lauren Carlini for wins over France and Serbia. Carlini returned to the lineup in the quarterfinals and finished out the tournament as the backup setter to Jordyn Poulter.

The U.S. has the most medals of any country in indoor women’s volleyball with seven, breaking a tie with the former Soviet Union, and has now medaled in five straight Olympics. Upon returning from Paris, Washington and a few of her teammates stopped by the New York Stock Exchange on Monday to ring the closing bell.

Washington and Hancock, who first teamed up on Penn State’s most recent NCAA national championship squad in 2014, are among five Nittany Lions who have medaled at the Olympics, joining current Penn State assistant coach Megan Hodge Easy (2012 – silver), Christa Harmotto Dietzen (2012 – silver, 2016 – bronze), and Alisha Glass Childress (2016 – bronze).

Washington and Hancock also spent two seasons as teammates playing professionally in Italy for Igor Gorgonzola Novara during the 2020-21 and ’21-22 campaigns. Both spent the last seven seasons playing in Italy, but they will return home to the U.S. as two of the faces of League One Volleyball, a new pro league beginning play in January 2025. Washington is a member of the LOVB Salt Lake franchise, while Hancock is part of Houston’s roster.

Washington played her club volleyball for the Colorado Juniors, the same program that produced current Penn State players Izzy and Anjelina Starck, while Hancock represented Oklahoma Peak Performance Volleyball prior to her decorated career as a Nittany Lion. Hancock and Washington were both named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and three-time first-team AVCA All-Americans. Hancock took home AVCA National Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2014 after winning her second national title.

Not only are Hancock and Washington outstanding volleyball players who are among the best to ever suit up in Rec Hall, but they are also exemplary ambassadors of the game, giving back to their communities and inspiring youth all over the world to pick up the sport. They have used their platforms to share the importance of athletes prioritizing their mental health and are excellent role models for Penn State’s current team, occasionally coming back to campus to share their wisdom with them.