Richard Lambourne

volleyball player infobox


fullname=Richard Lambourne
dateofbirth=Birth date and age|1975|5|6|mf=y
cityofbirth=Tustin, California
countryofbirth=USA
height=193 cm
spike=324 cm
block=312 cm
team=Mlekpol AZS Olsztyn (2006–?)
nationalteam=USA

Richard "Rich" Edward Lambourne (born May 6, 1975) is an American indoor volleyball player. He joined the U.S. Men's National Team in 2000 as the designated libero. He has recently played for Mlekpol AZS Olsztyn. Lambourne made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Olympics, helping Team USA to a gold medal.

High school and personal life

Lambourne was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Paul and Ann Lambourne. He grew up in Tustin, California, and attended Foothill High School.

Rich was badly injured during a bike accident when he was 6. He skinned his shoulder to the bone and mangled the right side of his face. He says of the accident, "I could have been much uglier but due to my loving parents and medical science, I am only mostly unattractive"

He served a mission in Hokkaido, Japan for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

College

Lambourne attended Brigham Young University where he majored in Japanese. He was also recruited by Stanford and Long Beach State.

In 1999, he was the starting outside hitter for the BYU men's volleyball team that won the program's first ever NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship. For the year, he played in 82 games and posted 252 kills, 205 digs, 88 blocks and a .348 hitting percentage.

Career

Lambourne began to play professional volleybal for Lamia, a club from Greece. His next club was Aon hotVolley Vienna. After that, he went to Noliko Maaseik. Now, he represents Polish Mlekpol AZS Olsztyn. He plays as a libero.

Clubs

* (?-?)
* (?-?)
* (?-2006)
* (2006–?)

International Competitions

Recent international competition
*2008
**Olympic Games (Gold Medal)
**FIVB World League (Gold Medal)
**NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship (Gold Medal)
*2007
**FIVB World Cup
**NORCECA Continental Championship (Gold Medal)
**Americas’ Cup (Gold Medal)
**FIVB World League (Bronze Medal)
*2005
**NORCECA Continental Championships (Gold Medal)
**World Grand Champions Cup (Silver Medal)

Individual Awards

*"2006 Pan-American Cup "Best Defender""
*"2007 FIVB World League "Best Libero""
*"2008 FIVB World League "Best Libero""

Reference

* [http://www.usavolleyball.org/national/profiles/men/player.asp?number=5 Profile]

External links

* [http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1388/bio/index.html Bio at NBC Olympics]
* [http://www.byucougars.com/Profile.jsp?ID=1354 BYU Cougar Bio]