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April Ross:
 
April Ross
United States  
 
Vital Statistics
 

Photo: Ken Delgado
Birth Date June 20, 1982 (28 years old)
Home Town Newport Beach, CA
Resides Costa Mesa, CA
Height 6'1"
College Southern California
  Best Finish Winnings
United States 1st (8 times) $375,163
   AVP 1st (8 times) $345,163
   AVP HWN* 1st (6 times) $22,500
   Bonus Money   $7,500
International 1st (8 times) $378,000
   FIVB 1st (8 times) $378,000
Overall 1st (16 times) $753,163
 
Bio Bits

Beach Bits:

Ross is the first U.S. woman to start her career with three FIVB victories before winning domestically.
Ross became the first U.S. woman to win FIVB Rookie of the Year in 2007, one season after winning the AVP's Rookie of the Year award.
Ross and Kessy were the only U.S. tandem to win an FIVB event in 2009 (compared to four different American partnerships winning an event in 2008).
• In Chicago 2009 Ross and Kessy became just the sixth team worldwide to surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings as a partnership.
• In 2009 Ross and Kessy had a 16-3 record in semifinal matches (9-2 AVP, 7-1 FIVB).
• In June 2010 Ross won on her 28th birthday, becoming the sixth female to accomplish that.
• From October 2008 through the Klagenfurt Grand Slam, Ross and Kessy have played for a medal in 17 of their 23 FIVB events (winning seven golds, six silvers, three bronzes in that span).

2010: Ross and Kessy began the AVP season with a third and then a fifth in Santa Barbara, ending a streak of 21 straight AVP events advancing to the semifinals. They then won the next four domestic events. The duo played for a medal in each of the first five FIVB events, extending their streak to eight straight FIVB events playing for a medal, and collected two wins, before placing ninth in Stavanger.
2009: Ross and Kessy appeared in the finals of nine of their 10 regular season AVP events, winning four times. Their win in Houston marked their first AVP title together after going 0-9 in title matches domestically. Ross led the tour in aces per game (1.29), and was fourth in hitting percentage (.481). On the FIVB Tour the duo won the World Championships in Stavanger, Norway, marking the fourth straight time a team from the USA has won that title. In Gstaad the pair finished fifth, ending a streak of 20 consecutive tournaments (AVP and FIVB) in the semifinals and six straight FIVB gold medal match appearances. Ross and Kessy also won in Marseille as well as the season finale in Phuket, increasing their total to nine medals earned in 12 events during the season.
2008: Ross and Kessy were in the semifinals in all but one AVP event, including five championship matches, ending as the third-ranked team on Tour. Ross led the Tour in aces per game (1.24) and was eighth in hitting percentage (.431). Internationally, Ross and Kessy just missed qualifying for the Beijing Olympics, finishing seventh in the world rankings but as the third American team. Ross and Kessy ended the FIVB season with a second place finish followed by victories on consecutive weekends. Ross recorded the FIVB's second fastest serve in 2008 (85.7 km/hr in Berlin).
2007: Kicked off her new partnership with Jennifer Kessy with a second-place finish in the season opener in Miami. The pair advanced to five additional semifinals, including another championship match. In Hermosa Beach they defeated Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the winner's bracket, marking just the third time that duo had lost on the AVP Tour prior to the semifinals. Ross ended the season ranked in the top 10 on the AVP Tour in three different categories; second in aces per game (.99), sixth in kills (7.01) and seventh in hitting percentage (.440). On the FIVB Tour, their first event ended with a loss in the country qualifier. The next week, in the Stavanger Grand Slam, they became the lowest seeded team (29th) to win an FIVB event. After winning their country quota match and a pair of qualifier matches, they overcame two early pool play losses and won six straight matches to capture the title in what was just the fourth international event for Ross. The duo also placed second in St. Petersburg.
2006: Began her pro beach volleyball career playing with former college teammate Keao Burdine, and the duo had a pair of ninths in 13 events as Ross earned the AVP Rookie of the Year award. Ross ranked ninth on the Tour in hitting percentage (.433). Competed in two FIVB events, with Barbra Fontana and Nancy Mason, with a best of 17th.

Hot Winter Nights: Played in six events in 2008, winning four times to tie for the most victories during the season. Ross won in Columbus, Spokane, Everett and Portland while posting a 19-5 match record on the season. In 2009 she won her first two HWN events, in Columbus and St. Louis, playing in five events on the season.

College: Ross started every single match in her career at USC, and led the team in kills and points each year. She also led the team in digs until the start of the libero position in 2002. Ross was the National Freshman of the year, and was first-team all-Pac-10 each of her four seasons. She was selected second-team AVCA All-America as a freshman, and first-team as a junior and senior. Ross led the team to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2002 and 2003, and was the conference's Player of the Year in 2003 as a senior. Twice she earned Academic all-Pac-10 honors.

Personal: Ross, who has one sister (Amy), was the 1999 Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player of the Year. A "Fab 50" selection, she was also an honor roll student all four years. In addition to her four letters in volleyball in high school, she lettered four years in track and three in basketball. In the summers of 2000 and 2001 she was a member of the USA Junior National Team, USA A2 Women's National Phase 1 Team in 2002, and the Women's National Team in 2003. 

 
 
Awards
 
  • AVP Most Improved Player 2007
  • AVP Rookie of the Year 2006
  • FIVB Best Hitter 2009
  • FIVB Best Offensive Player 2009
  • FIVB Top Rookie 2007
 
Career Summary
 
United States
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points Rank 13th 15th 17th 25th 33rd 37th 41st CQ
2006 AVP 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 $6,287.50 572.0 45th 1 0 6 2 1 0 1 0
2007 AVP 16 0 2 4 0 7 3 0 $76,025.00 1,890.0 11th 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 AVP HWN* 6 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 $22,500.00     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 AVP 13 0 5 6 0 2 0 0 $104,750.00 2,124.0 5th 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 AVP HWN* 5 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 $0.00     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 AVP 12 4 5 2 0 0 0 0 $117,850.00 3,370.0 5th 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 AVP 6 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 $47,750.00 1,995.0 3rd 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total
(Rank)
  71
(83rd)
8
(26th)
12 13 0 10 3 2 $375,162.50
(16th)
9,951.0   1 1 6 2 1 0 1 0
 
International
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points Rank 13th 15th 17th 25th 33rd 37th 41st CQ
2006 FIVB 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,500.00 60.0 159th 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
2007 FIVB 8 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 $53,050.00 1,390.0 35th 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
2008 FIVB 12 2 1 1 1 5 0 1 $87,300.00 2,650.0 4th 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2009 FIVB 12 3 4 2 0 1 0 1 $139,100.00 3,270.0 5th 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2010 FIVB 13 2 1 1 2 3 0 2 $97,050.00 2,740.0 7th 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Total
(Rank)
  47
(153rd)
8
(16th)
7 4 3 11 0 6 $378,000.00
(22nd)
10,110.0   0 0 3 2 0 1 0 2
 
 
 
Overall
Total
(Rank)
  118
(67th)
16
(26th)
19 17 3 21 3 8 $753,162.50
(16th)
20,061.0   1 1 9 4 1 1 1 2
 
* AVP Hot Winter Nights events are exhibitions and only count for tournaments played and prize money won.
Red denotes ranked 1st
 
Victory List
 
Victory Date Assoc Location Partner Seed Winnings
1 6/30/2007 FIVB Stavanger Jennifer Kessy 29 $21,750
2 11/9/2008 FIVB Phuket Jennifer Kessy 2 $14,000
3 11/16/2008 FIVB Sanya Jennifer Kessy 1 $14,000
4 5/17/2009 AVP Houston Jennifer Kessy 2 $12,000
5 6/21/2009 AVP Ocean City Jennifer Kessy 2 $12,000
6 7/4/2009 FIVB Stavanger Jennifer Kessy 1 $30,000
7 7/26/2009 FIVB Marseille Jennifer Kessy 3 $21,500
8 8/16/2009 AVP San Francisco Jennifer Kessy 2 $12,000
9 9/6/2009 AVP Mason Jennifer Kessy 2 $10,000
10 11/8/2009 FIVB Phuket Jennifer Kessy 1 $15,000
Victory Date Assoc Location Partner Seed Winnings
11 5/9/2010 FIVB Shanghai Jennifer Kessy 3 $15,000
12 5/23/2010 FIVB Rome Jennifer Kessy 2 $21,750
13 6/6/2010 AVP Huntington Beach Jennifer Kessy 2 $10,000
14 6/20/2010 AVP Virginia Beach Jennifer Kessy 2 $10,000
15 6/27/2010 AVP Belmar Jennifer Kessy 1 $10,000
16 7/18/2010 AVP Hermosa Beach Jennifer Kessy 1 $10,000
 
Partner Summary
 
AVP Pro Beach Tour
Partner Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money 13th 15th 17th 25th
Jennifer Kessy 44 8 12 13 0 8 3 0 $323,375 0 0 0 0
Keao Burdine 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 $6,288 1 0 6 2
Various 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 $15,500 0 1 0 0
Total 60 8 12 13 0 10 3 2 $345,163 1 1 6 2
 
AVP Hot Winter Nights Tour*
Partner Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money 13th 15th 17th 25th
Various 11 6 2 2 1 0 0 0 $22,500 0 0 0 0
Total 11 6 2 2 1 0 0 0 $22,500 0 0 0 0
 
Fédération Internationale de Volleyball World Tour
Partner Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money 13th 15th 17th 25th
Jennifer Kessy 45 8 7 4 3 11 0 6 $376,500 0 0 2 2
Nancy Reynolds 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,500 0 0 1 0
Barbra Fontana 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 0 0 0 0
Total 47 8 7 4 3 11 0 6 $378,000 0 0 3 2
 
Overall
Partner Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money 13th 15th 17th 25th
Jennifer Kessy 89 16 19 17 3 19 3 6 $699,875 0 0 2 2
Various 14 6 2 2 1 2 0 0 $38,000 0 1 0 0
Keao Burdine 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 $6,288 1 0 6 2
Nancy Reynolds 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,500 0 0 1 0
Barbra Fontana 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 0 0 0 0
 
Total 118 16 19 17 3 21 3 8 $745,663 1 1 9 4
* AVP Hot Winter Nights events are exhibitions and only count for tournaments played and prize money won.
 

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