Stacy Sykora

Stacy Denise Sykora (born June 24, 1977) is an American retired volleyball player. She was a two-time All-American at Texas A&M University and she competed in both the 2000 and the 2004 Olympics as part of the U.S. women's national team. She made her third Olympic appearance at the 2008 Olympics, helping Team USA to a silver medal.

Sykora won the gold medal with her team at the 2001 and 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix.

Early life Sykora was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Ed Sykora and Sherian Richards. She was raised in Burleson (a Fort Worth suburb) with her two older sisters, Kim and Keri. As a student at Burleson High School, Sykora dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete, but was unwilling to choose between volleyball, basketball, and track and field. After graduating from high school, she accepted a scholarship to play volleyball at Texas A&M University under coach Laurie Flachmeier Corbelli, a member of the USA Volleyball team which won the silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. As a true freshman, Sykora played in all but one of the volleyball team's 30 matches, leading the team in kills in four matches and in digs three times.

2003 During the 2003 season, Sykora led the USA volleyball team in digs (533) and digs per set (3.46), and finished sixth on the team with 89 total points in 11 matches (85 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace) as the United States went 8-3. Her team earned the gold medal at the Pan American Cup and the NORCECA Zone Championships and the bronze medal at the World Grand Prix and the World Cup, earning the USA a berth in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Sykora was named Best Digger at the Montreux Volley Masters. Despite the team's lackluster showing, Sykora's performance earned her the Best Digger honor for the Olympic games. Following the Athens Games, Sykora left the US national team.

2007 After being three years away from the program, Sykora was named to the 12-player roster of the U.S. women's national team that played at the 2007 FIVB Women's World Cup in Japan. The top three teams at the world cup will play at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The U.S. team finished in 3rd place. In the medal round, the team eventually reached the gold medal match, losing to Brazil and capturing the silver medal.

2010 She was named Best Digger and Best Libero at the 2010 World Championship.

2011 After some time playing for Brazilian volleyball team Vôlei Futuro, Sykora was injured when the bus carrying her team overturned on its way to the first match for the semifinals of the Brazilian Volleyball Superleague on April 12. She was taken to Hospital Sírio-Libanês where it was detected that she had head trauma and some bleeding in the left side of the brain. The player was sedated and admitted to the Intensive care unit. After a week in the ICU, Sykora's state had improved and she was able to breathe and eat on her own and could walk around the hospital's halls with the help of nurses. Sykora left the ICU and was transferred to a semi-intensive care unit on April 19. She was finally discharged from hospital on May 6.

2012 In December 2012, Sykora announced that she was retiring from professional volleyball playing, since she was not yet fully recovered from the accident she suffered while defending Vôlei Futuro. She still had problems with her eyesight and she lost some of her reflexes since that accident, which made playing volleyball as a Libero very difficult.

Personal life In 2012, Sykora came out as lesbian in an interview with Italian volleyball magazine Pallavoliamo, saying in part, "I have a girlfriend and I'm happy with her now. ... I'm happy and this is the most important thing."

Awards

Individuals 2001 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Digger" 2001 NORCECA Championship "Best Receiver" 2004 Olympic Games "Best Digger" 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship "Best Libero" 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship "Best Digger"