Falyn Talei Fonoimoana (born March 3, 1992) is an American professional indoor and beach

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who plays as an opposite hitting for indoor professional league

Athletes Unlimited An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. She has also represented the U.S. National Team in the 2015 Pan-American Games, earning a gold medal with the team.

Personal life

Falyn Talei Fonoimoana was born and raised in

Hermosa Beach, California Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...

. She comes from a diverse ancestral background: she is African American, English, Irish, Austrian, German, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan. She comes from an athletic family, as her uncle,

Eric Fonoimoana Eric Fonoimoana (born June 7, 1969) is an American former beach volleyball player of Samoan descent who paired with Dain Blanton to win the gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2000 Olympic Games. He has played professionally for more than 16 ...

, was a gold medalist in beach volleyball in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. She attributed her interest in volleyball from a young age to Eric, as she used to be a ball girl for him. Her mother, Debbie, also played beach volleyball and trained with her sister, Lelei Fonoimoana, who swam in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

at 17 years old. In high school, she attended

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first began operating in 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic t ...

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...

. The top-ranked national recruit in her graduating class, she was regarded as one of the best players ever at the high school level. Fonoimoana has a son who was born in August 2012.

Career

College

During Fonoimoana's freshman season in 2010, she was 2nd on her team in kills and was named the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Freshman of the Year, as well as AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year. However, her collegiate career was cut short during the beginning of her sophomore season in 2011: Southern California abruptly announced she was ineligible for the season. It was not clear why she was ineligible, but she never returned to play collegiately again.

Professional clubs (indoor)

*2012–2013 Orientales de Humacao *2013–2014

Criollas de Caguas Criollas de Caguas is a Puerto Rican women's professional volleyball team founded in 1981. The team is based in Caguas, Puerto Rico. History The team was founded in 1980. Team 2022 Previous * Honours Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino ...

*2014–2015 PGE Atom Trefl Sopot *2015–2016

Changos de Naranjito The Changos de Naranjito are a professional volleyball team based in Naranjito, Puerto Rico. The team is the most successful franchise in any sport in Puerto Rican sports history. Known for their large fan base and record 24 national men's vol ...

*2015–2016

Indias de Mayagüez Indias de Mayagüez is the Professional Female volleyball (LVSF) team of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The team's home court is the Palacio de Recreación y Deportes The Palacio de Recreación y Deportes German Wilkins Vélez Ramírez is a coliseum ...

*2015–2016

*2022

After retiring from indoor competition in 2016, she decided to return to it in 2022 and signed with American professional league Athletes Unlimited. During her season, she was voted MVP 1 of the match by her teammates and opponents when she posted a team-high 15 kills with seven digs. Not far into the season, she had five games with 10 or more kills. By the conclusion of the season, she ranked #19 out of 44 players with 2,209 total ranking points, averaging 2.86 kills per set, 103 digs, and 9 solo blocks.

USA National Team (indoor)

Fonoimoana was selected to represent the United States at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

. United States won the gold medal after defeating Brazil in the final.

Awards and honors

Indoor clubs

Team

* 2013–2014

Puerto Rican League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

– Gold medal, with Criollas de Caguas. * 2014–2015

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 it was renamed CE ...

– Silver medal, with PGE Atom Trefl Sopot * 2014–2015 TURON Liga – Silver medal, with PGE Atom Trefl Sopot * 2014–2015 Polish Cup – Gold medal, with PGE Atom Trefl Sopot * 2015–2016

– Gold medal, with Criollas de Caguas.

Individual

*Puerto Rican League - ''Best server'' (2012–2013), with Orientales de Humacao. *Puerto Rican League - ''Best receiver'' (2013–2014), with Criollas de Caguas.

College

* AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year (2010) *Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2010)

Beach volleyball

Fonoimoana committed to the AVP Tour in 2018 and has competed in several professional tournaments. She finished 4th in the 2019 AVP Austin with partner Nicolette Martin. In August 2021, Fonoimoana and her partner Geena Urango finished in 13th place at the Women's AVP $100,000 Gold Series Atlanta Open.

USA National Team (beach)

Fonoimoana has also represented the US in beach competition. She has won three gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal in the NORCECA Beach Tours.

External links

Athletes Unlimited Profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonoimoana, Falyn 1992 births Living people Volleyball players from California People from Hermosa Beach, California Outside hitters Opposite hitters American women's volleyball players American women's beach volleyball players American volleyball coaches USC Trojans women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in volleyball Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games American expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate volleyball players in Poland 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women African-American volleyball players Mira Costa High School alumni