Nicole Christine Branagh (born January 31, 1979, in

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...

) is an American

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. She has represented the United States in international competition as a member of both the

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

and

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

national teams. With partner

Elaine Youngs Elaine Youngs (born February 14, 1970 in Orange, California) is an American former professional volleyball player who competed both indoors and on the beach. Youngs attended UCLA, where as a freshman she started on a team that went undefeated t ...

, Branagh competed in the beach volleyball tournament at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, finishing fifth. She currently plays beach volleyball professionally as a right-side defender.

Career

Branagh played collegiately at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. She was twice named to the All-America Second Team as an

outside hitter 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 Summe ...

. She also was the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

's co-Player of the Year in her senior season. Following graduation, she played for the

United States women's national volleyball team The United States women's national volleyball team participates in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball. The current head coach is three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired dominant beac ...

from 2001 to 2003, finishing her national career after the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

, where she won a bronze medal and was the top scorer. After spending the 2004 season as a volunteer assistant coach at

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, Branagh began playing beach volleyball on the AVP Pro Tour and the FIVB World Tour. She has won 17 AVP events and 3 FIVB World Tour events over the course of her career. She was named the AVP Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the Most Improved Player in 2006 and 2008. She partnered with

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 ...

for much of the 2006 season, before teaming up with

for the remainder of the 2006 season and up until the 2009 season. Branagh and Youngs competed at the

where they came in fifth.

Personal life

Branagh lives in Southern California with her wife and two children.

References

External links

Nicole Branagh
at the

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 ...

Nicole Branagh
at the

Beach Volleyball Major Series The Beach Volleyball Major Series (or Beach Major Series and formerly the Swatch Beach Volleyball Major Series) was an international series of beach volleyball tournaments from 2015 to 2020. The tournaments consisted of Tour Stops and formed part ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Branagh, Nicole 1979 births Living people American women's volleyball players American women's beach volleyball players Beach volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic beach volleyball players of the United States Volleyball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Minnesota Golden Gophers women's volleyball players People from Orinda, California Pan American Games medalists in volleyball LGBT volleyball players American LGBT sportspeople Beach volleyball defenders FIVB World Tour award winners Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century American women