WORLD CHAMPION – VOLLEYBALL
Linda Fernandez
Best-known as a defensive specialist in professional volleyball, Linda Fernandez was a member of the International Volleyball Association (IVA), a coed volleyball league. She played for the Los Angeles Stars and later the Santa Barbara Spikers. In 1975, she helped the Stars to an IVA Championship. She was voted to the All-IVA teams in 1976, 1977 and 1978. As the league expanded, Fernandez joined the Seattle Smashers and played alongside basketball great and volleyball notable, Wilt Chamberlain, and helped the Smashers become one of the best teams in the league.
Between 1977 and 1980, Fernandez participated in the grueling ABC-TV Women’s Superstars competition and won back to back championships in 1979 and 1980.
A gifted athlete, she was a state doubles champion in tennis and set a record in the high jump while in high school. Out of high school in 1968, Fernandez was named to the National Rookie Volleyball Team and was an alternate to the U.S. Olympic team. She played for the University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team that finished second to the 1973 National Champion, UCLA.
Following her career in sports, Fernandez returned to Hawai’i and set up a physical therapy business that continues today.
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