Angela Rock is a former Olympic volleyball player. She was born on October 15, 1963, in California. Angela was a collegiate athlete at San Diego State University and became an Olympic volleyball athlete in 1988. Along with the Olympics, she participated in the 1977 Pan American games, the Goodwill Games, the Women's Professional Volleyball Association (WPVA), and the Federation De International Volleyball tours. Angela won 27 beach volleyball events, and in 1991 she was named the Women's Professional Volleyball Associations top hitter. After her Olympic and professional volleyball career, she became a coach and an author.

Before and During Olympic life

Early life

Angela Rock fell in love with the idea of being an Olympian as a junior at El Toro High School despite not initially being interested in team sports. In high school, she was a multi-sport athlete including basketball, volleyball, track, and softball. When the Olympic volleyball coach, Arlie Serlinger, hosted a practice with two El Toro players, Rock joined them. After a successful high school season, San Diego State offered her a scholarship to play indoor volleyball.

Collegiate Life and Journey to the Olympics

Angela was a student-athlete at San Diego State University as a member of the Volleyball team that made ranked in the Final Four in 1981 and 1982. By her junior year, her attitude resulted in her cut from the team. She rejoined the team her senior year. In 1984, Rock ended her senior year tying a school record of 81 serving aces and 752 kills and was named a First Team All-American in her collegiate league. She was inducted into the University's Hall of Fame. Rock graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. In December 1984, she began to train for the American Beach National Team for February 1985 tryouts. She made the team of 13 players and was named the MVP her first year. She participated in indoor volleyball in the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea where America ranked 7th. Rock received a Masters in Physical Education at National University and a Masters in Education from Azusa Pacific University.

After Olympic life

After a successful 30 years of volleyball, Angela retired in 2000 to become a coach, educator, and an author.

Author

Angela shared her experience in the book ''Angela Rock's Advanced Beach Volleyball Tactics,'' a guide to both indoor and outdoor volleyball. The book topics include warm ups outside the physical court, responsibilities of a

setter The setter is a type of gundog used most often for hunting game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. In the UK, the four setter breeds, together with the pointers, usually form a subgroup within the gundog group as they share a common fun ...

, effective blocking, and defense strategies.

Coaching and career

Rock was the head coach at The University of Alaska Fairbanks,

Cuyamaca college Cuyamaca College is a public community college in Rancho San Diego, California. It is part of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and the California Community Colleges System. Along with Grossmont College, it serves the eastern su ...

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

, Southwestern Community College in San Diego, Saint Mary's College in Morago, CA and the

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Men's volleyball team. She was an Olympic coach in 1996 for

Holly McPeak Holly McPeak (born May 15, 1969 in Manhattan Beach, California) is a retired American indoor and beach volleyball player. McPeak was three-times an Olympian in beach volleyball. In the professional circuit, she garnered 72 career beach volleyba ...

and

Nancy Reno Nancy Reno (born December 24, 1965, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois) is a retired female beach volleyball player from the United States. She won the bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships in Los Angeles, California, partnering Karolyn Kirby. The ...

. She currently works in education management.

Achievements

* 1981-

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Final Four member * 1982- National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four member * 1984- San Diego State University most valuable player * 1984- Named a First Team All American * 1985- USA Volleyball most valuable player * 1987-

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

Games Silver medal recipient * 1991- Named Women's Professional Volleyball Association tour's best hitter * 1992- Almeria Spain Beach Exhibition Olympics Silver Medal recipient * 1993-

Association of Volleyball Professionals The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) is the biggest and longest-running professional beach volleyball tour in the United States. Founded in 1983, the AVP is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The AVP operates as a 3-tiered ...

Tour champion and Inducted into Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Angela Living people 1963 births American women's volleyball players Volleyball players from California San Diego State Aztecs women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players for the United States College women's volleyball coaches in the United States College men's volleyball coaches in the United States Azusa Pacific University alumni Volleyball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball