When you think “prototypical beach volleyball player,” you think Geena Urango.

The Southern Cal native is sensationally athletic, ambidextrous, and stands nearly six feet tall. It’s small wonder she found her way to the sport at 11, but despite her natural advantages, success has been a product of unrelenting devotion to the game and an insatiable, wickedly competitive drive.

FAB FIFTY

Geena isn’t the type to screw around. She found her way to national-level acclaim with the quickness, competing as part of the U.S. Youth National Team in 2005-2006. That same year, she led Los Alamitos High School to a California Interscholastic Federation Division I State Championship. The team’s MVP? Yeah, we don’t even need to say, do we?

Reflecting her spectacular junior ascent, Geena was named a member of Volleyball Magazine’s “Fab 50” for 2007. She used the honor as a springboard for collegiate domination, recording 40 aces in her freshman campaign at the University of Southern California the same year. The accomplishment was seventh all-time in a single season for Trojan Women’s Volleyball.

Ultimately playing four seasons at USC as a Defensive Specialist / Outside Hitter, Geena was named First Team Pac-10 Conference All-Academic her senior season and earned distinction as the first sand volleyball scholarship recipient as a graduate student. She capped her college career by placing fifth overall alongside Sara Shaw in the inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships.

USC TO AVP

Geena’s transition from college star to pro standout was swift—she shined in six Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach volleyball events beginning in 2014. By 2016, she was a seasoned, formidable foe on the pro circuit, finishing the season ranked third overall with partner Angela Bensend. The same year, Geena showed out with the AVP’s Most Improved Player award.

Since her 2016 breakout, Geena has finished the AVP ranked top 10 four out of six seasons. Needless to say, she’s got consistency on lock.

LIFE IN FORWARD MOTION… NO MATTER THE SEASON

In-season, Geena Urango serves up a dogged work ethic in the sand that competitors struggle to match. Out of season, she feeds her wanderlust by scratching her travel itch, no matter where it takes her. In all ways, the Los Alamitos product stays in forward motion, forging ceaselessly ahead into her bright future. //