The International Volleyball Hall of Fame inducts its 2022 class on Saturday. We are featuring all six inductees, including this feature on Fernanda Venturini. You can watch the ceremonies in Holyoke, Massachusetts, live at 7 p.m. Eastern. Get all the information at www.VolleyHall.org.
When speaking about the history of Brazilian women’s volleyball, it takes a lot for someone to stand out. But Fernanda Venturini does just that. Regarded as one of the most important and influential players in Brazilian volleyball, if not the world, Venturini is a four-time Olympian and considered one of the world’s best setters.
The twists and turns of Venturini’s life and her volleyball story read like a Hollywood movie. She started playing the sport at age 11 on medical advice to help correct a scoliosis problem. Just four years later, she moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil to live on her own and play for Pao de Azucar, also capturing her first world title in 1987.
Two years after that, she was playing in her first Olympic Games in 1988 in Seoul. Still a teenager, Venturini made an impact for the Brazillians as an attacker.
Yes, you read that right. One of the world’s best setters played in her first Olympics as a hitter.
After a sixth-place finish at the Games, Venturini was convinced to change her position to setter due to her refined techniques, skill and fundamental precision.
Terry Liskevych, former USA Women’s Volleyball Olympic Coach, faced Venturini many times over the course of their careers.
“Fernanda was an extremely athletic, highly-skilled, intelligent and very competitive player,” he said. “In the 1988 Olympics she played as an opposite and by 1992 and beyond she was the 5-1 setter on an ascending Brazilian team. Under the guidance of Bernardinho, they became a top three team in the world.”
At the 1994 Grand Prix, Venturini won her first title with head coach and fellow 2022 International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee Bernardo “Bernardinho” Rezende and was named Best Setter at the event. The team continued its streak, capturing three silvers at the 1994 World Championships, the 1995 Grand Prix and the 1995 World Cup, gold at the 1996 Grand Prix and a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
After retiring from the national team to focus on professional volleyball, Venturini was the only Brazilian athlete named among the top four greatest women’s volleyball players of the 20th…
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