April Ross facts for kids

Quick facts for kids April Ross
Ross at the 2017 AVP Austin Open
Personal information
Full name	April Elizabeth Ross
Nickname	Ross The Boss
Born	(1982-06-20) June 20, 1982 (age 42) Costa Mesa, California, United States
Hometown	Newport Beach, California, United States
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
College(s)	USC
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Years Teammate 2022 Emily Capers
Previous teammates
Years Teammate 2018–2021 2017 2013–2017 2007–2013 2006 2006 2006 Alix Klineman Lauren Fendrick Kerri Walsh Jennings Jennifer Kessy Keao Burdine Barbra Fontana Nancy Mason
Medal record Women's beach volleyball Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo Beach Silver 2012 London Beach Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Beach World Championships Gold 2009 Stavanger Beach Silver 2017 Vienna Beach Silver 2019 Hamburg Beach World Tour Finals Bronze 2021 Cagliari Beach World Tour Gold 2007 Stavanger Beach Gold 2008 Phuket Beach Gold 2008 Sanya Beach Gold 2009 Marseille Beach Gold 2009 Phuket Beach Gold 2010 Shanghai Beach Gold 2010 Rome Beach Gold 2011 Stavanger Beach Gold 2012 Bangsaen Beach Gold 2013 São Paulo Beach Gold 2013 Xiamen Beach Gold 2014 Fuzhou Beach Gold 2014 Moscow Beach Gold 2014 Stavanger Beach Gold 2014 Long Beach Beach Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Beach Gold 2016 Fuzhou Beach Gold 2016 Cincinnati Beach Gold 2016 Moscow Beach Gold 2016 Long Beach Beach Gold 2018 The Hague Beach Gold 2019 Yangzhou Beach Gold 2019 Itapema Beach Gold 2019 Gstaad Beach Gold 2021 Doha Beach Silver 2007 St. Petersburg Beach Silver 2008 Dubai Beach Silver 2009 Brasil Beach Silver 2009 Seoul Beach Silver 2009 PAF Beach Silver 2009 Sanya Beach Silver 2010 Moscow Beach Silver 2011 Shanghai Beach Silver 2011 Stare Jabłonki Beach Silver 2011 Phuket Beach Silver 2013 Rome Beach Silver 2015 Long Beach Beach Silver 2016 Vitória Beach Silver 2016 Gstaad Beach Silver 2019 Tokyo Beach Bronze 2008 Stavanger Beach Bronze 2009 Klagenfurt Beach Bronze 2009 Barcelona Beach Bronze 2010 Seoul Beach Bronze 2010 Sanya Beach Bronze 2011 Brasília Beach Bronze 2011 Myslowice Beach Bronze 2011 Beijing Beach Bronze 2012 Rome Beach Bronze 2015 Fuzhou Beach Bronze 2016 Xiamen Beach Bronze 2021 Cancún Beach Bronze 2021 Cancún Beach

April Elizabeth Ross (born June 20, 1982) is an American beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Jennifer Kessy, a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Kerri Walsh Jennings, and a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics with Alix Klineman. Ross and Kessy were also the 2009 Beach Volleyball World Champions.

Early life

Ross grew up in Newport Beach, California, where she attended Newport Harbor High School. There she played volleyball and basketball with fellow 2012 Olympian Esther Lofgren. At NHHS, in addition to lettering in track, she was a star indoor volleyball player, eventually becoming the nation's top recruit for her graduating class. She won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award as a senior and was the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999. In her senior season, she notched 624 kills and 526 digs. She played club volleyball for Orange County Volleyball Club for five years. She also played on the U.S. Junior National Team. She is 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall.

Personal life

April is the daughter of Glen and Margie Ross, and has a sister - Amy Ross. She married men’s beach volleyball player Bradley Keenan in 2010. They divorced in 2018. Ross got engaged to Josh Riley in summer 2022. April and Josh welcomed baby boy, Ross Riley in November 2023.

College

Ross played indoor volleyball during her collegiate career, where she attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In her freshman season she was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as the National Freshman of the Year. Additionally, she received Pac-10 First Team honors as well as AVCA Second Team All-America honors. She helped USC to the NCAA Final Four.

As a sophomore in 2001, she was a second team All American and finished the season ranked fourth in Pac-10 in kills (3.98 kpg), sixth in points (4.52 ppg) and seventh in digs (3.04 dpg) and helped USC to the NCAA Regional Finals, when she suffered a sprained ankle during game two and was forced to leave the match.

In her final two seasons, she helped USC to back-to-back NCAA Titles. In 2002, she was named a First Team All-American and had 15 kills and 14 digs in the NCAA Championship win over Stanford, avenging their only loss of the season to the Cardinal. In 2003, she repeated as a First Team All-American, and helped USC to an undefeated season after defeating Florida in the NCAA championship match. Ross had 14 kills and 19 digs in the winning effort.

She finished her career among USC's all-time career record-holders, ranking in the top 6 in eight statistical categories, including first in points (1,430) and points per game, second in service aces (161) and service aces per game (0.38), fourth in attacks (3,859), fifth in kills (1576), kills per game (3.73) and digs (1,296) and sixth in digs per game (3.06).

In 2004, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female collegiate volleyball player.

Career

Ross with Kerri Walsh Jennings and John Kerry

Professional career

In 2008, with her beach partner Jennifer Kessy during the Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008, they finished in third place at the ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger, second place at the Dubai Open and first place at the Phuket Thailand Open, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player. On September 7, 2008, Ross and Kessy upset the World No. 1 duo of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh at an AVP tournament in Santa Barbara, California. On July 4, 2009, Kessy and Ross won the FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, Norway defeating Brazilians Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca. As of April 2012, Ross had eight AVP and nine FIVB 1st-place finishes overall, as well as over $937,813 in total prize money.

World tour 2016

Ross played, with partner Walsh Jennings, at the Long Beach, California Grand Slam, which was part of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. They won the gold medal in straight sets (21–16, 21–16).

Partnering with Klineman

Ross and Alix Klineman (right) in 2019

At the end of 2017, Ross and Alix Klineman became beach volleyball partners. Klineman and Ross won the FIVB Dela Beach Open in January 2018, which was the first tournament they played together. During the 2018 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, Klineman and Ross won four tournament events: the Austin Open, the Manhattan Beach Open, the Championships (in Chicago), and the Hawaii Invitational. In mid-October 2018, Klineman and Ross won their second FIVB tournament event, earning the gold medal over Brazil at the Yangzhou Open. They were named the AVP Team of the Year at the AVP Award Banquet that November.

In 2019, their success continued as they won the Huntington Beach and New York City Open AVP tour events, and won the FIVB Itapema Open mid-May. They also won the silver medal at the 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

In July 2020 the two won the AVP Monster Hydro Cup and the Wilson Cup, and in August they won the AVP Champions Cup.

In August 2021, two weeks after winning gold at the Olympics, the pair won the AVP Manhattan Beach Open, their second time winning this tournament together.

Olympic career

In the 2012 London Olympics, No. 4 seed Ross and Kessy won the Silver Medal by defeating Brazil's No. 1 seed team of Juliana and Larissa in a semi-final match after dropping the first set. They lost to teammates Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings in the Gold Medal final straight sets by an identical score of 16–21.

On June 26, 2013, Ross teamed up with Walsh-Jennings to train for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ross played as a defender behind Walsh Jennings' block. Seeded at No. 3, Ross and Walsh Jennings lost to Brazil's No. 2 seed team of Agatha and Barbara in straight sets of 20–22 and 18–21 in a semi-final match. They defeated the No. 1 seed Brazil team of Larissa and Talita in the Bronze Medal match for Ross's second Olympic medal.

On August 6, 2021, Klineman and Ross captured the gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics, after winning in straight sets versus Australia. In the entire tournament, they went undefeated in match play, and only lost one set throughout 7 matches. The win allowed Ross to complete the trifecta of winning an Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Awards

College

• Honda Sports Award (2004)

FIVB

• FIVB Top Rookie: 2007
• FIVB Best Offensive Player (1): 2009
• FIVB Best Hitter: 2009, 2011
• FIVB Best Server: 2011, 2012, 2015–2017

AVP

• AVP Rookie of the Year: 2006
• AVP Most Improved Player: 2007
• AVP Best Server: 2013–2017
• AVP Best Offensive Player: 2013, 2017
• AVP Most Valuable Player: 2013–2017
• AVP Team of the Year: 2012 (with Jennifer Kessy), 2014, 2016 (with Kerri Walsh Jennings), 2019 (with Alix Klineman).

Clubs

• Leonas de Ponce (2004–2006)
• Orange County Volleyball Club for 5 Years

See also

In Spanish: April Ross para niños