Road to Paris: How Volleyballer Justine Wong-Orantes Went from the Beach to the Olympic Medal Podium
The gold medalist on her past and present Olympic journey, the future of her sport in the United States, and more
Justine Wong-Orantes (right) receives a pass.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
Words by Samantha Pak
Road to Paris: The 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris are less than a year away, and athletes around the world are gearing up to go for the gold—including AA+PI athletes throughout the United States. Normally we’re all about shirking the unrealistic expectations put on our community to excel, but as we gear up for next year’s summer games, we are here to celebrate the outstanding AA+PI athletes getting ready to compete for their country. Read on to learn more about their road to Paris!
Justine Wong-Orantes grew up in a volleyball family. With parents who played, it was no surprise that volleyball caught her interest at a young age.
After playing club ball from 8 to 18, Wong-Orantes went on to play for the University of Nebraska—a volleyball powerhouse that has won five national championships, including when she was a junior in 2015, and in August this year set the world record for the largest crowd to witness a women’s sports event, with 92,003 fans filling the school’s Memorial Stadium. In 2017, Wong-Orantes joined the national team, and went on to be part of Team USA’s first-ever gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Now, the 28-year-old Anaheim-based libero, who is of Chinese, Filipino and Mexican descent, is looking to repeat that performance next year at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
I recently spoke with Wong-Orantes—who is currently in Germany through April 2024, playing for SC Potsdam—about the difference between beach and court volleyball (and why she prefers the latter), her sport’s growing popularity in the United States, and being a founding athlete for one of the new American volleyball leagues.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Justine Wong-Orantes celebrates during a game.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
Samantha Pak: Can you tell me about how you got started in volleyball?
Justine Wong-Orantes: Both of my parents actually played volleyball. They both went to college and played and they were just always around it. That's actually how they met. I was exposed to it at a very young age—just going to the gym with my dad and watching him do a camp and things like that. I was, of course, naturally very interested. I started to play club volleyball at 8 years old and my dad was coaching at that club, Mizuno Long Beach (Volleyball Club). I grew in love with it.
SP: How was it separating the sport with family life?
JWO: What was really cool was my mom and dad never really forced me to play—same with my younger brother. We were just drawn to it. Once I got more involved, it was like, “Okay, now I need to start looking at how to get recruited for college.” That's when it started to get a little bit more serious and [more about] how they could support me more in a parental role, versus a volleyball coach role.
SP: Did you start with beach volleyball?
JWO: Yeah. I would go back and forth because the seasons were different. Of course beach volleyball was more prominent in the summers. When school was out, there were a bunch of tournaments. I would basically play all year round, from when I was 8, until graduating high school.
Justine Wong-Orantes dives for the dig while her teammate Jordan Larson watches.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
SP: How is it playing on the beach and in the sand, versus on a court?
JWO: Typically on the beach, it’s only doubles, and six people on the hard court. Of course, I love the atmosphere, being with your friends and literally being on the beach all day long. But what my heart was really drawn to was indoor volleyball because we had six people and there were designated positions. It felt more like a team. Not that beach volleyball isn't a team sport, but with more players came more responsibility and more success with contributing all that together.
SP: When did you make the full-time switch to just indoor volleyball?
JWO: My senior year of high school. That's when I committed to the University of Nebraska. I knew that they were primarily an indoor program. They had beach volleyball when I was there, but they were more known for indoor volleyball and being successful there.
SP: What was it about volleyball in general that made you want to stick with it?
JWO: I really attribute Mizuno Long Beach, the youth club that I played for. Their overall culture and the atmosphere of their club, and what the coaches brought to their teams, was like a family.
A typical season for club volleyball, if you were on a travel team, was from October all the way through June or July. Ultimately, if you're wanting to play in college, that was what it was for. I played from 8 to 18 and I really developed a really close bond with the coaches, but also with my teammates.
SP: Once you got to college and officially switched over to indoor volleyball, what was that environment like for you?
JWO: It was really, really amazing. Nebraska volleyball is traditionally a very good program and (head coach) John Cook has been there for 20-plus years now. He really ingrained in his athletes high-level volleyball and tradition and also discipline. When you commit to Nebraska, you know what you're going to get and you know that you're gonna have to work hard and really push. We played consistently in front of 8,000 people in our home arena. That was really cool, because it's such a huge community out there. I really was grateful for it.
Justine Wong-Orantes (middle, right) poses with her teammates with their Olympic gold medals in Tokyo in 2021.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
SP: Once you go pro and want to go for the national team, what was that transition?
JWO: Karch Kiraly, our (national team) head coach, does a lot of color commentary for the NCAA season with all the colleges. So he's very in-tune. He calls different coaches and gets the debrief of the college season. Post season there's this all-American banquet and usually out of those people, he's telling us, “You're on the radar for being invited to the national team gym.” He typically reaches out to the people that he wants to have in the gym in the summer. I was invited in 2017 to be a part of Team USA.
SP: You were on the national team for a few years before the 2021 Olympics. What was it like when they were delayed and people didn't know if they were canceled?
JWO: Oh my gosh, it was crazy. I can't believe some of the things that we had to do to keep the gym open. I was doing all my workouts beforehand in Texas with my fiance at a home gym. But once I got the word that we could start practice, I flew back to California. Thankfully, I'm from there, so I could live with my mom. We were only able to do four-person groups at a time. We would go in at our assigned times. We were testing every day. We had to wipe down, sanitize balls after every drill. We set up barriers through the net so you couldn't have that close contact. Some of our coaches were wearing gloves because they wanted to reduce the contact. It was definitely tedious but we were so thankful that we could even be in the gym practicing.
When they announced that it was gonna be postponed for sure, that, honestly, was a relief just because we didn't have to be in this limbo. I am so blessed. I never wanted a pandemic to happen, but for me and my development plan, I needed a year longer to really develop and play more volleyball. That year really benefited me.
SP: You’re currently in Germany. This is your club team. Do your Team USA teammates do similar things where they play in a league or international club?
JWO: Everyone goes overseas, but now we actually have a couple of American leagues that are starting. So a few girls have actually stayed back to play in those, which is really cool because for a long time, America's never had a league. I think volleyball in America is just growing tremendously, year by year. It's really cool to see and I'm excited. There's Athletes Unlimited, Pro Volleyball Federation, and then next January (2025), there will be League One Volleyball.
I'm actually a founding athlete for League One Volleyball. I'm on the athletes council with a few other of the national team members. I'm signed for my first two years with that league. Super excited for that.
SP: What was that experience like, being in Tokyo for the Olympics—once it finally happened?
JWO: To host an Olympics through a pandemic, I don't think any country would have done it better. Japan was awesome. They were so thorough in everything that they did. They made sure that we could still have an experience that resembled a true Olympics. And so for me, I was trying to soak everything up, take a billion pictures, videos, all of that. I really, really enjoyed it. It was just really cool to be a part of and also get to meet some of the other athletes, and just do the things that you would normally do at any Olympics—like the exchanging of pins, going through the Olympic Village, going through the cafeteria, all of that.
SP: Team USA got the gold that year. So, congratulations! I know it's a few years late [laughs]. What was that like, at the end of the match when you guys realized you got gold?
JWO: Oh my goodness, it was honestly such a relief, in the sense that we put so much work into our team culture, dynamics and just everything that we wanted to exude as a team—off the court and culturally. It directly translated on the court. We were so cohesive as a team that there was no one that was going to stop us.
We had a few injuries—very pivotal injuries—that happened during the Olympics with two of our starters. One of them was out for the remainder of the tournament. And so for us to bounce back as a team with those injuries, and a butt-kicking against Russia—they beat us three-zero—it was really cool to see us bounce back as a team, but also fill roles where they were needed. That team and that dynamic will always be very special.
The USA Volleyball team stands at the top of the podium with their gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
SP: The 2024 games are less than a year away, so how are training and preparing? You're in Germany, but what's the process to make the team for the Olympics?
JWO: This summer actually was our Olympic qualification. So we (Team USA) qualified along with five other teams. France already is qualified because they're hosting.
SP: So as a team, you guys are already headed there. But individually, obviously, you have to make it as well. What is that process like?
JWO: It's very unique because we don't usually know until about a month before the Olympics. Because there's just a lot that goes into it, like injuries and anything unforeseen. But now with it being in our professional seasons, the coaches are watching film on us and just seeing how we're doing from afar and they make their decisions based on past performances, current performances, how we're doing with our professional teams, and our experience too.
SP: What is it like to go from playing with your league team in Germany—who you see day in, day out—and then come together to a different team, who you don't see and play together as often? What is it like to build that chemistry, shorthand and language?
JWO: For us, it's building that culture off the court and how we communicate with each other, how our values are aligned, and things like that, to build the trust off the court. And with everyone putting in the work on the court, with their respective teams and their different leagues, I think that will translate when we all come back to Team USA. Historically, Team USA has always been very, very talented, but they never won gold. There was something that needed to be changed and I think that started with the off-the-court stuff. I think that was really why we were so successful in Tokyo.
From left, USA Volleyball players Haleigh Washington and Justine Wong-Orantes hug following the medal ceremony in Tokyo in 2021.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
SP: What has it been like for you to play at this top level, to represent Team USA as an Asian American athlete?
JWO: I was very blessed that my family, specifically my mom's side, because they're Asian, and they grew up in so many sports, whether it was volleyball, basketball, tennis. They were always around sports, so I think I got very lucky growing up with that kind of atmosphere and that mentality of always being active and wanting to go out and play sports. So that was all I ever knew and it was very natural for me to go down that path of staying in athletics and always wanting to do something active. I'm really happy that my family has always been like that and has always continued to support me in that.
SP: Well, thank you and good luck with your league season and enjoy Germany while you can!
JWO: Thank you!
Justine Wong-Orantes during a game in May.
Courtesy of USA Volleyball
Published on December 6, 2023
Words by Samantha Pak
Samantha Pak (she/her) is an award-winning Cambodian American journalist from the Seattle area and editor in chief for JoySauce. She spends more time than she’ll admit shopping for books than actually reading them, and has made it her mission to show others how amazing Southeast Asian people are. Follow her on Twitter at @iam_sammi and on Instagram at @sammi.pak.