Micah Christenson

{{Infobox volleyball biography

| name = Micah Christenson

| image = Micah Christenson (Legavolley 2019).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Christenson in 2019

| full_name = Micah Makanamaikalani Christenson

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|5|8|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

| hometown =

| height = {{convert|1.98|m|order=flip}}

| weight = {{convert|88|kg|order=flip}}

| spike = {{convert|349|cm|order=flip}}

| block = {{convert|340|cm|order=flip}}

| college = University of Southern California

| position = Setter

| currentclub = Zenit Kazan

| currentnumber = 11

| years = 2012–2015
2015–2018
2018–2021
2021–

| teams = USC Trojans
Volley Lube
Modena Volley
Zenit Kazan

| nationalyears = 2013–

| nationalteam = {{vb|USA}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry| {{USA}} }}

}}

Micah Makanamaikalani Christenson ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|r|ɪ|s|tʃ|ən|s|ən}} {{respell|KRISS|chən|sən}}; May 8, 1993){{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/micah-christenson_1917991|title=CHRISTENSON Micah |work=Paris 2024 Olympics |access-date=8 August 2024}} is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a setter for Zenit Kazan and the U.S. national team. He was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Paris 2024 and the 2018 World Championship; the 2014 World League, 2015 World Cup and 2023 World Cup winner.

Personal life

Christenson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Robert and Charlene Christenson. His parents both attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where his father, Robert, played basketball and his mother, Charlene, won three volleyball national championships and was named a two-time All-American. His sister, Joanna, played volleyball at Southern Utah University. Christenson began playing club volleyball in 2005 with Asics Quicksilver; he also played basketball and was two time Gatorade Player of the year in Hawai'i.

Christenson is married to Brooke Christenson. They have two sons and a daughter together. Christenson is a Christian.{{cite web |last=Ackerman |first=Jon |date=May 28, 2020 |title=MAGAZINE: U.S. Volleyball Star Micah Christenson is Christlike & Competitive |url=https://sportsspectrum.com/sports-spectrum/2020/05/28/magazine-us-volleyball-micah-christenson-christlike-competitive/ |website=Sports Spectrum |access-date=May 30, 2020}}

Career

Christenson was a basketball and volleyball player for Kamehameha Schools Kapālama in Honolulu, graduating in 2011. He led his teams to three state championship titles (basketball in 2009 and 2011, and volleyball in 2011) and played in six state championship games. He attended the University of Southern California and played for the USC Trojans men's volleyball team. He was a starter on the U.S. Junior National Team that won a gold medal in the 2010 NORCECA Junior Championship in Canada and also played the FIVB 2009 Boy's Youth World Championship in Italy. In 2011 he played for the U.S. Junior National Team during the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship in Brazil where the team placed fourth. He captained the U.S. Junior National Team to win a gold medal at the 2012 NORCECA Men's Junior Continental Championship in Colorado Springs.

He was supposed to play on the 2013 U.S. Men’s Junior National Team but got called up to the senior team instead. He debuted with the U.S. national team at the NORCECA Championship, which U.S. won; Christenson was named Best Server and Best Setter in this tournament.{{cite web |url=http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2013/September/28/US-Men-Win-2013-NORCECA-Championship |title=U.S. Men Win 2013 NORCECA Championship |website=TeamUSA.org |first=B.J. |last=Evans |date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929084247/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2013/September/28/US-Men-Win-2013-NORCECA-Championship |archive-date=September 29, 2013}} He also competed in the 2013 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup. In 2014 he won the gold medal at the World League, held in Florence, Italy.{{cite web |url=http://www.fivb.org/en/volleyball/competitions/worldleague/2014/viewPressRelease.asp?No=47373&Language=en |title=USA upset Brazil to claim second World League title |website=FIVB.org |date=July 20, 2014}} He began senior-level competition at age 20. He is the youngest starting setter to ever compete for the U.S. on a national team for both junior level and senior level.{{cite web |url=http://dailytrojan.com/2015/04/28/micah-christenson-wins-lloyd-ball-award/ |title=Micah Christenson wins Lloyd Ball Award |website=DailyTrojan.com |first=Haily |last=Tucker |date=April 28, 2015}}

At club level, he played on the team that won 2016-2017 Superlega, Italy's top championship, with Cucine Lube Civitanova.

As of 2021, he signed a two-year contract to play in the Russian club, Zenit Kazan. Suffering only one loss in the entirety of the 2020 Russian SuperLeague in their first match against Dynamo Moscow, Kazan was able to win the first season of the Superleague.

Honors

=Club=

CEV Champions League
16px 2017–18 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova
FIVB Club World Championship
16px Poland 2017 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova
Domestic
2016–17 16px Italian Cup, with Cucine Lube Civitanova
2016–17 16px Italian Championship, with Cucine Lube Civitanova
2018–19 16px Italian Supercup, with Modena Volley
2021–22 16px Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
2022–23 16px Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
2022–23 16px Russian Superleague, with Zenit Kazan

=Individual awards=

2013: NORCECA Championship – Best setter
2013: NORCECA Championship – Best server
2015: FIVB World Cup – Best setter
2017: NORCECA Championship – Most valuable player
2018: FIVB World Championship – Best setter
2019: FIVB Nations League – Best setter
2019: FIVB World Cup – Best setter
2022: FIVB Nations League – Best setter
2023: FIVB Nations League – Best setter
2023: NORCECA Championship – Most valuable player

References

External links

{{CEV player|63870}}
[https://volleybox.net/micah-christenson-p1244 Micah Christenson] at Volleybox.net
[https://www.legavolley.it/player/CHR-MIC-93 Micah Christenson] at LegaVolley.it {{in lang|it}}
{{Olympics.com profile|micah-christenson}}
{{Olympedia|136386}}
{{Team USA|new_id=micah-christenson-879522|old_id=CH/Micah-Christenson|archive=20221003052746}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140816094844/http://www.teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/athletes/micah-christenson archive August 15, 2014])

{{succession box

| before = {{flagicon|ARG}} Luciano De Cecco

| after = Incumbent

| title = Best Setter of
FIVB World Cup

| years = 2015
2019

}}

{{succession box

| before = {{flagicon|GER}} Lukas Kampa

| after = {{flagicon|ITA}} Simone Giannelli

| title = Best Setter of
FIVB World Championship

| years = 2018

}}