Paola Egonu

Paola Ogechi Egonu (born 18 December 1998) is an Italian professional volleyball player. She plays for Italian volleyball club Vero Volley Milano and is part of the Italy women's national volleyball team.

She was one of the flagbearers of the Olympic Flag at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

Personal life
Egonu was born in Cittadella, in Veneto, to Nigerian parents. Her father, Ambrose, is Igbo from Imo State and her mother, Eunice, from Benin City. She has two siblings, Angela and Andrea. Her cousin Terry Enweonwu is a volleyball player as well.

She was awarded the prize for Woman of the Year 2019 by D - la Repubblica delle donne, a weekly magazine of La Repubblica.

In 2020, she dubbed the character Dreamerwind (Italian: Sognaluna Dibrezza), originally voiced by Cathy Cavadini, for the Italian version of the animation movie Soul, produced by Disney and Pixar.

In the season 2020–2021, she co-presented the Italian show Le Iene.

Career
Egonu participated at the 2018 Montreux Volley Masters, 2018 FIVB Volleyball World Championship, and 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League.

At club level, she played for Club Italia in 2015. She was selected to play in the Italian League All-Star game in 2017. In 2017, she moved to AGIL Novara.

Clubs

 * 2017 Italian Supercup - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Igor Gorgonzola Novara
 * 2017-18 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Igor Gorgonzola Novara
 * 2018-19 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Igor Gorgonzola Novara
 * 2018–19 CEV Women's Champions League - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with AGIL Novara
 * 2019 Italian Supercup - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2019-20 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2020 Italian Supercup - Simple cup icon.svg Champions, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2020-21 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2020–21 Italian League - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2020–21 CEV Women's Champions League - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2021 Italian Supercup - Simple cup icon.svg Champions, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2021-22 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2021–22 Italian League - Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Imoco Volley Conegliano
 * 2022–23 Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup – Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with VakıfBank S.K.
 * 2022–23 CEV Women's Champions League – Simple cup icon.svg Champion, with Vakıfbank S.K.

Individuals

 * 2015 U18 World Championship MVP
 * 2015 U18 World Championship Best Outside Spiker
 * 2016 Europe Olympic Qualification Tournament "Best outside spiker"
 * 2016–17 Italian League "Top Scorer"
 * 2017-18 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) "Most valuable player"
 * 2018 Montreux Volley Masters "Most valuable player"
 * 2018 FIVB World Championship "Best opposite hitters"
 * CEV Champions League 2018–19 "Most valuable player"
 * 2018–19 Italian League "Top Scorer"
 * 2019 Italian Supercup "Most valuable player"
 * 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship "Most valuable player"
 * 2020-21 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) "Most valuable player"
 * 2020–21 Italian League "Most valuable player"
 * CEV Champions League 2020–21 "Most valuable player"
 * CEV EuroVolley 2021 "Most valuable player"
 * 2021 European Volleyball Confederation "Female Volleyball Player of the Year 2021"
 * 2021–22 Italian League "Most valuable player"
 * 2021-22 Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) "Most valuable player"
 * 2021–22 Italian League "Top Scorer"
 * 2022 FIVB Nations League - "Best opposite hitter"
 * 2022 FIVB Nations League - "Most valuable player"
 * 2022–23 Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup "Most valuable player"
 * 2022–23 CEV Champions League – "Most valuable player"
 * 2024 FIVB Nations League - "Best opposite hitter"
 * 2024 FIVB Nations League - "Most valuable player"