Paola Egonu

Paola Egonu
Paola Ogechi Egonu (born 18 December 1998) is an Italian professional volleyball player. She plays for Italian volleyball club Vero Volley Milano and is part of the Italy women's national volleyball team.
She participated at the 2018 Montreux Volley Masters, 2018 FIVB Volleyball World Championship, and 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League.
At club level, she played for Club Italia in 2015. She was selected to play in the Italian League All-Star game in 2017. In 2017, she moved to AGIL Novara.
She was awarded the prize for Woman of the Year 2019 by D - la Repubblica delle donne, a weekly magazine of La Repubblica.
She was one of the flagbearers of the Olympic Flag at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
Personal life
Egonu was born in Cittadella, in Veneto, to Nigerian parents. Her father, Ambrose, is Igbo from Imo State and her mother, Eunice, from Benin City. She has two siblings, Angela and Andrea. Her cousin Terry Enweonwu is a volleyball player as well.
In 2020, she dubbed the character Dreamerwind (italian: Sognaluna Dibrezza), originally voiced by Cathy Cavadini, for the Italian version of the animation movie Soul, produced by Disney and Pixar.
In the season 2020-2021, she co-presented the italian show Le Iene.
Awards
Clubs
2017 Italian Supercup - Champion, with Igor Gorgonzola Novara
2017-18 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with Igor Gorgonzola Novara
2018-19 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with Igor Gorgonzola Novara
2018–19 CEV Women's Champions League - Champion, with AGIL Novara
2019 Italian Supercup - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2019-20 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2020 Italian Supercup - Champions, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2020-21 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2020–21 Italian League - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2020–21 CEV Women's Champions League - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2021 Italian Supercup - Champions, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2021-22 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2021–22 Italian League - Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
2022–23 Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup – Champion, with VakıfBank S.K.
2022–23 CEV Women's Champions League – Champion, with Vakıfbank S.K.
Individuals
2015 U18 World Championship MVP
2015 U18 World Championship Best Outside Spiker
2016 Europe Olympic Qualification Tournament "Best outside spiker"
2016–17 Italian League "Top Scorer"
2017-18 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) "Most valuable player"
2018 Montreux Volley Masters "Most valuable player"
2018 FIVB World Championship "Best opposite hitters"
CEV Champions League 2018–19 "Most valuable player"
2018–19 Italian League "Top Scorer"
2019 Italian Supercup "Most valuable player"
2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship "Most valuable player"
2020-21 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) "Most valuable player"
2020–21 Italian League "Most valuable player"
CEV Champions League 2020–21 "Most valuable player"
CEV EuroVolley 2021 "Most valuable player"
2021 European Volleyball Confederation "Female Volleyball Player of the Year 2021"
2021–22 Italian League "Most valuable player"
2021-22 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) "Most valuable player"
2021–22 Italian League "Top Scorer"
2022 FIVB Nations League - "Best opposite hitter"
2022 FIVB Nations League - "Most valuable player"
2022–23 Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup "Most valuable player"
2022–23 CEV Champions League – "Most valuable player"
References
1998 births
Living people
Italian women's volleyball players
Italian people of Nigerian descent
Sportspeople of Nigerian descent
People from Cittadella
Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic volleyball players for Italy
Italian bisexual people
Italian LGBT sportspeople
Bisexual sportswomen
LGBT volleyball players
Serie A1 (women's volleyball) players
Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from the Province of Padua
VakıfBank S.K. volleyballers
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate volleyball players in Turkey
Opposite hitters
Italian expatriate volleyball players
Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
21st-century Italian LGBT people