Gay volleyball star Merrick McHenry powers Team USA to world silver
Merrick McHenry is a high-flying out gay star for the USA men's volleyball team that just took home a silver medal.
Mark
Merrick McHenry left the UCA Bruins men’s volleyball team in 2024, having won the NCAA National Championship with the team both his junior and senior seasons.
Now the world is getting a taste of the high-flying middle blocker who was such a pivotal part of the back-to-back UCLA National Champions.
The United States posted an 8-4 record across three weeks of pool play. They had lost to Japan in pool play, 3-2, but in the semifinal round the U.S. avenged their loss, 3-2, to advance to the final.
It was in the final match against Poland that Merrick McHenry shined so bright. USA Volleyball was effusive in its praise of McHenry’s performance in the VNL final.
“Middle blocker Merrick McHenry put together his best offensive performance of VNL play with 11 kills and just one error in 17 total attacks, adding three blocks for 14 points.”
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Merrick McHenry is a huge part of the success of the UCLA Bruins men’s volleyball team. Are the Paris Olympics next?
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While competing for the UCLA, Merrick McHenry set a school men’s volleyball record for career solo blocks. Given the lengthy history of the program, that’s a very impressive feat.
Who is Merrick McHenry?
McHenry grew up in Bedford, Texas, about halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth. In addition to the two NCAA National Championships, UCLA finished third in 2022, when McHenry was a sophomore.
In the VNL playoffs, Team USA soundly beat Italy, 3-0, in the quarterfinal match before beating Japan in the semifinal. They lost to Poland, 3-2, in the final. McHenry was the best blocker for the United States in the VNL final.
After winning back-to-back NCAA National Championships with UCLA, McHenry was named one of the two 2024 Outports Male Athletes of the Year, along with Olympic runner Nico Young.
McHenry and the United States will be at the top of the international men’s volleyball stage for the next couple of years, as the team and the player aim for a spot at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. It would be a return home — the athletes village for the 2028 Olympics is at UCLA — for the out gay athlete.
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