BEIJING – Former University of Hawai'i volleyball standout Clay Stanley helped lead the United States to a gold medal – its first in 20 years – over Brazil at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Stanley, the team's leading scorer, put down the final kill in the team's 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory.

 

Participating in his second Olympics, Stanley and his father Jon are the first father-son combination in U.S. volleyball history. Jon Stanley participated in two Olympics (1968 and '72). Clay was a member of the 2004 squad in Athens that finished fourth.

 

Clay Stanley helped lead the United States to an undefeated 8-0 mark, including wins over Serbia in the quarterfinals and Russia in the semis. Stanley had a tournament-high 21 kills in the team's pool play opener against Venezuela. He finished with 15 against Brazil in the gold medal match, none more important than the final kill which gave the U.S. its third gold medal in the sport, tying Russia for most in the Olympics.

 

The Americans won gold in 1984 and 1988 before taking the bronze in 1992. They finished fourth in Athens in 2004.

 

The U.S. overcame an emotional tragedy as head coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was killed during the second day of the Olympics. McCutcheon missed the team's first three matches before returning to the team for its pool play match against host China.

 

Stanley lettered for UH from 1997-2000 and ranks in the school's top ten for kill average and service aces.