Destinee Hooker: Volleyball Star Will Help US Team Win Olympic Gold

While not every sport at the London Olympics gets the attention it deserves, fans should start taking notice of the United States women's volleyball team.

The U.S. women have never won a gold medal in the Olympics, but this year looks like it is going to be different. They come into the games ranked No. 1 in the world according to FIVB, and are already off to a great start in London.

The squad has won all three matches so far, including against No. 2 Brazil and No. 3 China. In those games, the team has only lost two sets and was never in danger of losing the match.

Leading the team is Destinee Hooker. The former Texas Longhorn leads the entire competition with 66 scorers, helped by her 58 spikes—which is also the most at the Olympics. Her play has helped the U.S. lead all countries in spikes and efficiency.

Hooker and the rest of the team are playing with confidence that they have never had before. They won the World Grand Prix each of the past three years and are now expecting to win every time they take the floor.

Coach Hugh McCutcheon has been a big difference for this squad that was able to finish with the silver medal in Beijing. McCutcheon led the men's team to gold in those Olympics and has given that wisdom to the females in the sport.

After a difficult stretch of games, the team can now relax a bit against Serbia and Turkey and work on improving for the knockout stage. They will likely win their group, but have to make sure they will be ready for the win-or-go-home atmosphere.

Americans as a whole do not follow volleyball as much as other Olympic sports. The squad tried to gain popularity by posing in ESPN's Body Issue. 

It is about time they are respected for what they do on the court.

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