Karissa Kellie Cook (born April 8, 1991) is an American professional beach volleyball player and former indoor volleyball player.

Karissa Cook
Cook in 2016
Personal information
Full nameKarissa Kellie Cook[1]
Born (1991-04-08) April 8, 1991 (age 33)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
HometownSanta Cruz, California, U.S.
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
College / UniversityStanford/Hawaiʻi
Volleyball information
PositionSetter
Career
YearsTeams
2009–2012Stanford Cardinal
2014Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine
National team
2009United States USA U-20 indoor national team
2015–presentUnited States USA beach volleyball team
Honours
Women's beach Volleyball
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Beach
World Beach Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Doha Beach
NORCECA Beach Tour
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pointe Du-Martin Beach

Early life

edit

Cook was born on April 8, 1991, in Salt Lake City, Utah. She came from an athletic family: her father, David, played basketball at the University of San Diego and professionally for the Newcastle Falcons in Australia, and her mother, Suzy, played volleyball for United States International University. Her brother, Brian Cook, also played professional beach volleyball.[1] Cook played volleyball and was also a track athlete for Harbor High School. She was the number 25 recruit nationally in her graduating class. She participated with team USA's junior national team at the 2009 World Championships.[1]

Career

edit

Indoor

edit

Cook played indoor volleyball as a setter for Stanford from 2009 to 2012. She was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2009 and an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection as a junior in 2011. She finished her career with 142 kills, 3,027 assists and 53 service aces.[1]

Beach

edit

Cook played beach volleyball for Hawaiʻi's beach volleyball team in 2014. She graduated from Hawaiʻi with a master's degree in civil engineering.[2] During the season, she was named an All-American. She posted a team-best 42–7 record and finished as the runner-up at the AVCA Pairs National Championship.[3]

Cook made her AVP debut in Manhattan Beach with Michelle Iafigliola in 2015, they placed 25th at the tournament. In 2018, partnered with Katie Spieler, she started off the AVP season with a third-place finish. In October 2018, with Spieler, they won the gold medal at the NORCECA beach tour championships in Pointe Du-Martin in Martinique, defeating Canadians Sophie Bukovec and Alexandra Poletto 21–18, 20–22, 15–12.[4]

In 2019, Cook partnered with Jace Pardon, she won her first AVP title Austin, Texas. Cook and Pardon teamed together again to represent the U.S. in the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, winning the gold medal against two-time Olympian Ana Gallay and Fernanda Pereyra of Argentina. It was the first time that the United States won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in beach volleyball.[5]

In October 2019, Cook won a gold medal with her teammates at the 2019 World Beach Games that were held in Doha, Qatar in the 4x4 beach volleyball event. She had five kills and five blocks in the championship match versus Brazil.[6]

Coaching career

edit

She briefly returned to Stanford in 2015 as an assistant coach for the beach volleyball team. In 2021, she was hired by Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach for their beach volleyball program.[7]

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Karissa Cook – Stanford". Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "AVP Profile-Karissa Cook". avp.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Hawaii Bio". Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Volleyball Quick Hits 10/2018: Spieler-Cook win NORCECA gold, Vaught-Mewhirter silver". Volleyball Magazine. October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  5. ^ "JACE PARDON, KARISSA COOK WIN FIRST PAN AMERICAN BEACH VOLLEYBALL GOLD MEDAL FOR TEAM USA". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  6. ^ "U.S. sweeps beach volleyball events at World Beach Games". NBC Sports. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "Lions Beach Volleyball Welcomes Karissa Cook". Loyola Marymount University Athletics. January 22, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2024.