Liz was a member of the USA Volleyball Team for five years and a starter in the 1988 Seoul, Korea Olympics. She was instrumental in leading UCLA to a National Championship in 1984 where she also won the tournament’s MVP Award. Liz clearly established herself as one of the greatest all-time players, not only at UCLA where she owns numerous single season and career records, but on the national level where she excelled as an aggressive hitter and an exceptional defensive player. In February 1996, she was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
Liz Masakayan successfully transitioned from one of the premier collegiate and U.S. National Team members to one of the best on the beach. Her powerful jump serve and excellent ball control makes her and her former partner, Karolyn Kirby, the top winning team in WPVA history. She is also second in career earnings for the WPVA. Combine her outstanding physical skills with her intensely competitive nature and you get a world class athlete. She exhibits the rare combination of attributes that lead to greatness, yet she is personable and approachable. Her charisma sets her apart as a crowd favorite wherever she travels. In fact, in a survey of fans conducted by Volleyball Magazine in 1995, Liz was voted the most popular female beach volleyball player.
Liz is featured as one of the three elite female athletes in a fitness video currently being marketed by Reebok. She has been on the cover of Volleyball Magazine four times (May 1994, September 1993, December 1992, and July 1988 before the Olympics). In addition, Liz has been a featured athlete in Sports Illustrated, Harper’s Bazaar, Outside, Shape, Self, and Women’s Sport and Fitness Magazines along with appearing in television ads for Reebok, Evian, and Coors Light. She also had a speaking role in the HBO show, Arliss. |
