Best Player/Team of This Decade (2011-2020)

fabi was absolute at 2001-2010

First yeas of this decade she was awful,brait was doing better

Sheilla literally ended someone's career with her legendary lobs.

Choosing the male players is harder than I thought.

The Cubans are absolutely the best OH duo in the world but there's not a lot of success in NT for both Juantorena and Wilfredo... yet. Italy with their silver olympic medal doesn't really feel that huge and Leon is only just starting to leave his mark in Poland so the next decade will probably be his. Their success in clubs is undeniable though so I don't think any other OH could truly overshadow what they've done professionally.

Mikhailov is obviously the holder of the opposite crown. He might not have won an olympics as the opposite but playing as an OH in the London final is still one of the greatest tactical changes in sports.

For the setter, it's Bruno. He've won everything there is to win and even personally, I didn't think he suited Lube but he made it work.

For the middle blockers, it's probably Muserskiy and Lucas. Muserskiy's insistence to play as opposite in Japan makes you forget about the fact he ruled the net when he played but recency bias, we'll probably have to sneak in Lisinac.

And for the libero, I'll have to go with Serginho. I don't really think Brazil would have won another olympics without him especially with the lineup that they had. His presence imo made the difference for Brazil.

Quote from Rains

Sheilla literally ended someone's career with her legendary lobs.

Quote from MTS

Sheilla was great in WGP in 2016.

Quote from Rains

Choosing the male players is harder than I thought.

The Cubans are absolutely the best OH duo in the world but there's not a lot of success in NT for both Juantorena and Wilfredo... yet. Italy with their silver olympic medal doesn't really feel that huge and Leon is only just starting to leave his mark in Poland so the next decade will probably be his. Their success in clubs is undeniable though so I don't think any other OH could truly overshadow what they've done professionally.

Mikhailov is obviously the holder of the opposite crown. He might not have won an olympics as the opposite but playing as an OH in the London final is still one of the greatest tactical changes in sports.

For the setter, it's Bruno. He've won everything there is to win and even personally, I didn't think he suited Lube but he made it work.

For the middle blockers, it's probably Muserskiy and Lucas. Muserskiy's insistence to play as opposite in Japan makes you forget about the fact he ruled the net when he played but recency bias, we'll probably have to sneak in Lisinac.

And for the libero, I'll have to go with Serginho. I don't really think Brazil would have won another olympics without him especially with the lineup that they had. His presence imo made the difference for Brazil.

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Agree on everything here, who’s the MVP in your opinion? The MVP in my mind is Bruno, as he’s the most important player to keep Brazil as the gold contender in all tournaments throughout the whole decade. He’s probably the only one who has won everything on both NT and club levels.

For best OH, it’s really hard to tell. The three Cubans are obviously the best, and I can’t even name which two are better among them, but it’s also true that they didn’t achieve that much in NT.

IMO Matt Anderson deserves to be mentioned, he’s the most all-around player and had great success in both USA NT & Kazan. Just because he played as Opp in NT most of the time, he can’t be named as one the best OH, otherwise I may rank him even above the Cubans.

Quote from MTS

That wrist though😍

Before Rains injected some life into men's list, there was almost no attempt to make one.

And in general, this forum is heavily slanted toward female volleyball, which is in keeping with the fact that female volleyball seems to be more popular globally than male one (one of rare such examples in the world of sport).

Quote from Janko

Before Rains injected some life into men's list, there was almost no attempt to make one.

And in general, this forum is heavily slanted toward female volleyball, which is in keeping with the fact that female volleyball seems to be more popular globally than male one (one of rare such examples in the world of sport).

I think that there is more "drama" and Rallies on Womens Volleyball.

My list ( these may not be the most popular choices, but all the players mentioned were great during the decade and watching them was the most entertaining for me ) :

Setter : Ognjenovic - she is completly unique, has a magical touch, although I didn't really like her in Poland - since she moved to Italy she was a pleasure to watch + her tips are great, it's really hard to guess when she is going to do them. Some other players i would like to mention are : Skorupa - I love her playing style, she always knows how to use middles and her one handed sets are great. I think her best years were in 2010-2015 but even after she was still playing for the best teams and now she is outshining every other setter in the Polish league. Fabiola - she is probably my favorite Brazilian setter but Dani Lins is close. I remember her crazy sets to Akinradewo when she played in Volero and I also like her experience and personality on court.

Opposite : Gamova - she was phenomal mostly in the previous decade but the 2010/11-2015/16 seasons were fantastic by her too. She led Kazan to winning Champions League and CWC which speaks for itself. Other players are : Tandara - she is very strong, I love her pipe attacks and she seems a very nice person I still want her to play in Italy or Turkey because she definately is one of the best for now, I hope she goes to Tokyo and leads Brazil to a medal. Skowronska - the decade was really good for her, she won a lot of trophies and despites her injury she still managed to come back on court and did great in Brazil. I also liked Goncharova and of course Egonu and Boskovic.

Middle Blockers : Thaisa and Eda - I think they are special because they can really make the dieffrence for their team. Thaisa is another unique player, she can attack from the pipe which is rare for a middle blocker and for Eda scoring over 20 points in a match is normal . I can't forget Koroleva who IMO is still one of the best in the world and also Adeniza who has a special energy which i really like and lastly Pleumjit who I also consider one of a kind.

Outside hitters : Sokolova and Piccinini - they both won the CL during the decade which is a fantastic achievment but I also think they were the leaders of their teams wherever they played. And Francesca still has a chance for her 8th CL gold . Kim Yeon Koung and Zhu Ting are also phenomenal and still playing on a very high level. On this position I will include a bit more players because there is truly so many great ones : Glinka, Gozde, Kosheleva, Calderon, Mammadova, Jaqueline are also worth mentioning.

Libero : Fabi - I think she was just the best. And her positive energy was always a great addition to any team. Other great liberos are Gizem Guresen and De Gennaro.

I am sure I forgot someone but still I think it's a good list It's a pity that some of them will not be seen on court anymore

IMO is sad seeing that best this decade where that played good or achieve their peak in 2001-2010

This decade don't give us so many star players,before we could think at least 5 in every position

Now is hard

The only stars i saw this decade gaves us besides the hole trinity are eda,de gennaro,mihajlovic,maja and some others

China was the one with most of them.but was poor in fact this decade in the stars making

We speak of Maja as one of the biggest stars of the decade (and practically everyone has picked her for their best setter of the decade), but I would just like to remind you that as recently as 2015 World Cup, Paul Sunderland (I think it was him?) confidently said prior to USA-Serbia match that Americans have a big advantage in the setter position (ie. Alisha Glass), so...that's how much perceptions can change in 5 years (and also indicates just how much of Maja's legacy and legend has been built in her 30s as opposed to her 20s).

For me the best setter in last decade would be definitly Alisha Glass if She hasn't retired after Olympics.

Amazing setter, She is leader of setters with fast system in today volleyball. And in future.

Her performance at WCH2014 is the best performance from the setter. Sorry Kim Hill but She was the MVP.

Quote from Janko

We speak of Maja as one of the biggest stars of the decade (and practically everyone has picked her for their best setter of the decade), but I would just like to remind you that as recently as 2015 World Cup, Paul Sunderland (I think it was him?) confidently said prior to USA-Serbia match that Americans have a big advantage in the setter position (ie. Alisha Glass), so...that's how much perceptions can change in 5 years (and also indicates just how much of Maja's legacy and legend has been built in her 30s as opposed to her 20s).

Glass at that time was phenomenal and had that heroic performance at the ‘14 WCH so it’s not a surprise that she was seen as the best but Maja was already one of the best and had been for a while. I actually think her performance at that tournament was probably the time when she really reached the next level. If her Best Setter award at the CL that year was undeserved, the fact that she didn’t get it for the WC was just as unfair.

Quote from Janko

We speak of Maja as one of the biggest stars of the decade (and practically everyone has picked her for their best setter of the decade), but I would just like to remind you that as recently as 2015 World Cup, Paul Sunderland (I think it was him?) confidently said prior to USA-Serbia match that Americans have a big advantage in the setter position (ie. Alisha Glass), so...that's how much perceptions can change in 5 years (and also indicates just how much of Maja's legacy and legend has been built in her 30s as opposed to her 20s).

Paul Sunderland was clearly biased IMO Ognjenovic has always been in a different level than Glass. It was clear when they faced each other in the World Cup 2015 and Olympics 2016.

Maja's tecnique and neutrality are amazing, Glass' tecnique was mmm... she legalised double contacts in volleyball, 50 % of her sets could be double contacts I was clearly never a fan of her

Quote from Sisko95

Glass at that time was phenomenal and had that heroic performance at the ‘14 WCH so it’s not a surprise that she was seen as the best but Maja was already one of the best and had been for a while. I actually think her performance at that tournament was probably the time when she really reached the next level. If her Best Setter award at the CL that year was undeserved, the fact that she didn’t get it for the WC was just as unfair.

Oh, definitely. In fact, during the match itself Sunderland (again, if that was him) said that he was apparently wrong, when he saw that Maja outplayed Alisha. As for best setter for the tournament, that they gave it to Niverka Marte was possibly the single most ridiculous individual award choice of the entire decade, let alone tournament, so no argument from me there.

Quote from Spyro

Maja's tecnique and neutrality are amazing, Glass' tecnique was mmm... she legalised double contacts in volleyball, 50 % of her sets could be double contacts I was clearly never a fan of her

And I literally think that Maja herself carry the ball to long in to her hands for setting in zone 1 and 2.

Quote from Janko

We speak of Maja as one of the biggest stars of the decade (and practically everyone has picked her for their best setter of the decade), but I would just like to remind you that as recently as 2015 World Cup, Paul Sunderland (I think it was him?) confidently said prior to USA-Serbia match that Americans have a big advantage in the setter position (ie. Alisha Glass), so...that's how much perceptions can change in 5 years (and also indicates just how much of Maja's legacy and legend has been built in her 30s as opposed to her 20s).

It is quite common for setters to reach their peak after their 30s. Skorupa, Fofao, Lo BBianco are good examples. To be honest, at that year Glass was better than Maja. Glass is such a special setter that she is the one established fast setting style which is not adopted many top setters like Wolosz and Naz