Jordyn Poulter got a lot of mileage out of the gold medal she won with the U.S. Women’s Volleyball National team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The Eaglecrest High School alum will have a chance to add to her collection, as she is among the 12 players to make the team headed to compete in the Paris Games next month according to the roster released Wednesday by USA Volleyball.
Poulter started at setter against Brazil on Aug. 8, 2021, when the Americans defeated Brazil 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 to win the country’s first gold medal in women’s indoor volleyball. It was the most prestigious medal earned by Poulter in a variety of international competition that she began when she was in her early teens.
A spot on a second straight Olympic roster — where the 6-foot-2 setter will be joined by seven others who played in Tokyo, including another player from Colorado in outside hitter Haleigh Washington of Colorado Springs, full roster here — is another addition to a fantastic volleyball resume for the 27-year-old Poulter.
In high school, she was a four-time All-Centennial League first team selection and three-time All-Colorado performer. Poulter went on to an All-American career at the University of Illinois and subsequently forged a professional career playing abroad. She made her first youth national team in 2013 and competed at various levels and in several international tournaments until she made the Women’s National Team in 2018.
When she returned to Colorado, Poulter toured Aurora and the surrounding area and to share her medal and her experience. Find the Sentinel‘s Nine Lives profile of Poulter, here.
Poulter also was chosen for induction to the Eaglecrest Athletics & Activities Hall of Fame in 2021 and attended the ceremony this past year.
The USA team will play in the preliminary round of the Volleyball Nations League next week in Fukuoka, Japan, while the Olympic competition will take place in Paris between July 27 and Aug. 11.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes
