Two-Time Olympian, Chiaka Ogbogu returns to Texas with a professional sports league and new perspective.
By Tiffani Arnold
Photos by Romina Olson
Styled by Empress Bey
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University of Texas graduate, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and Paris Olympic silver medalist Chiaka Ogbogu stands by the many hands that raised her. Her tenacity, woven with guidance from a deeply rooted community of peers and family, blossomed forth the modern woman seen on the volleyball court. On the other end of our phone call, Ogbogu is calm and collected, despite a packed schedule of upcoming League One Volleyball (LOVB) games. Ogbogu is a founding athlete of LOVB Austin, for whom she plays the role of middle-blocker. The volleyball league, long-awaited by American women athletes, debuted January 2025 in Austin and positioned volleyball as the city’s latest expansion in professional sports. Ogbogu attests, firsthand, to the consequences of being a professional player without a professional league.
Long before becoming a star athlete and two-time Olympian, Ogbogu was a middle school student who played sports just to be around friends. Her 6-foot, 1-inch stature could have been perfect for basketball, but she deemed it too physical. Track was another possibility, but it didn’t stick. Volleyball, initially seen as time to bond with friends, outlasted them all.
“Volleyball provided me the opportunity to be aggressive but not pushed around. I liked that it truly felt like a team sport,” says Ogbogu. “You’re playing on a 30x30 court, constantly being able to communicate in-close proximity…that made the sport attractive.”
Through a commitment to UT made in 2013, Ogbogu found her way to Austin from Dallas. The following years would foreshadow her professional successes, titling her a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American, record-holder of blocks for her university and the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2017. Despite thriving in volleyball at college, Ogbogu never considered playing post-college or becoming an Olympian. The thought simply never crossed her mind.
The pathway to professional volleyball isn’t as linear as it is for other sports. Without the luxuries of a national college draft system, like the NBA, NFL or WNBA, or even a professional volleyball league in the U.S., volleyball athletes tend to have only one clear option to continue performing: move to play overseas. For young players, the decision to leave their country and loved ones behind to pursue an athletic career can be a tough one. Before LOVB existed, Ogbogu was one of those athletes.
“People would say, ‘You have a really long pro-career ahead of you.’ But I didn’t know what that meant,” says Ogbogu. “There wasn’t a lot of information on what pro-volleyball entails. Honestly, I wanted to go to physical therapy school.”
Despite her career aspirations, clubs and agents spotted Ogbogu’s long-term potential. The influx of team offers brought on some tough decisions for her. “I didn’t really know anyone who was doing it at that level,” she says. Feeling anxious and losing sleep over her future post-graduation, she sought clarity and resolution from UT alumni about other Longhorn athletes who were playing or had played volleyball overseas. But the weight of impending league decisions was compounded by UT’s heavy name. “At times, the whole weight of the world was on your shoulders,” shares Ogbogu. In the face of college graduation, the star athlete struggled to find balance.
“This was one thing that really felt like a mystery, so I was stressed out all the time,” says Ogbogu. “Crying to coaches and parents like, ‘I don't know what to do. This just feels really scary. I can't imagine living essentially by myself abroad. What does that even mean?’”
This ambiguous future felt overwhelming to a cautious Ogbogu. She is careful and well-organized, someone who finds comfort in decisions that are certain. But in the pursuit of a volleyball career, she learned to loosen her grip on control.
“I was in this mindset of, I have to do something very uncomfortable, live and work abroad. I have no idea what that entails, but if everyone keeps saying ‘You have a long future in this, you could be an Olympian’, I owe it to myself to see that through, at least for one season.”
Ogbogu sought support from her also highly cautious mother. Having previously uprooted her life in Nigeria to pursue new opportunities in the U.S., her mother understood the weight of Ogbogu’s decision. The moment was not about failing or succeeding, but about seeing an opportunity through.
“I remember my mom saying, ‘You don't want to spend the rest of your life asking, what if? You don't want to look down the road and regret not taking a chance on yourself,’” shares Ogbogu.
Her mother’s encouragement to pursue this opportunity was exactly what she needed, though admittedly, both of her parents had reservations about their first-generation Nigerian-American daughter moving overseas on her own.
“I think she trusted that if I'm presenting this information, it's because I've thought about it, and I believe that something good can come out of it.”
Following her December 2017 graduation at UT, Ogbogu took the leap of faith. She started her professional career with the Italian team Il Bisonte Firenze in January 2018, reassured by the fact that the season ended in April. “That helped ease my mind - you can do anything for three months,” she says.
While those three months turned into six years - Ogbogu played overseas from 2018-2024 in Italy, Poland and Turkey - there were challenges unrelated to the game that she did not foresee.
“It's a different experience. There's cultural differences and a lot of uncomfortable moments,” she says. “[Living abroad] forces you outside of your comfort zone and to adjust to something that feels like it wasn't built for you.”
Her early solo-travel periods were critical moments in acceptance, patience and coping with the uncontrollable. Having connections with fellow American teammates helped her find some solace and comfort away from home, but her self-awareness was heightened as a result of “unprovoked stares” from curious onlookers.
“I'm Black, a woman, 6’1” and have my hair in braids. I'm sure for the average Polish citizen, it was a lot to take in,” says Ogbogu. “But the stares led to what I'd later understand to be social anxiety. I dreaded leaving my house for anything outside of training and competitions.”
She began to only go into places where she “knew [her] presence wouldn't come as a shock to anyone.” But eventually, it led to self-acceptance and an ability to truly value herself.
“Overall I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything,” she says.
The discomfort proved worth it, as the door into the Olympics appeared months just months into her first season abroad in Italy when Ogbogu was invited to train with the United States national team. The affirming of her capabilities and aspirations gave her strength to overcome the innate anxieties of an athlete.
“That summer of 2018 was the moment where I was like, ‘Okay, someone is recognizing that this is also a possibility. Not just my college coach…but the Olympic environment.’”
By 2020, Ogbogu turned attention from her Italian team Imoco Volley Conegliano toward her national team debut at the Tokyo Olympics. The 2020 tournament would be a landmark for two reasons: the US volleyball team would win their first-ever gold medal and subsequently, celebrate without an audience due to COVID. Having to settle for a televised audience, Ogbogu was still thrilled at the opportunity to play with the USA Volleyball Team.
“It was a great team to be a part of,” says Ogbogu. “I got to play with one of my favorite middle blockers, Foluke [Gunderson], who I grew up watching play in previous Olympics. It was cool to know that I played a role in her achieving her dream.”
The gold medal game against Brazil changed the trajectory of U.S. women’s volleyball. But the impetus behind those Tokyo wins was the veterans, and the game became a testament to them.
“That was [Foluke’s] third Olympics and we knew it would be her last,” says Ogbogu. “That was something we wanted to do for those veterans. They did so much for the program. It felt special - strange that there was no one involved in that [family and friends] - but almost necessary, because we all needed that moment. It felt very intimate.”
By 2024, Ogbogu welcomed an Olympic senior role and, this time, with supporters in the stands. For Ogbogu, Tokyo was about playing as a team; however, Paris held a different meaning.
“I wanted to help my team but also come in and make a statement,” shared Ogbogu. “I was dealing with a lot of self-doubt and insecurities in my game. I wanted to prove to myself that I could compete at a high-level. We left with the silver and I got an individual award, as well. So I felt like as much as this is 100% for my country and my family, it's also for myself, knowing how much I sacrificed for this job and this sport. I wanted to instill that confidence back in myself.”
COVID restrictions prevented her parents from attending her 2020 Olympic debut. But, Ogbogu’s parents were able to witness their daughter’s return to play on the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“[My parents] finally got to see, this is what this was all for,” Ogbogu proudly shares. “It was all worth it, all the uncertainty.”
Despite the distances traveled in Ogbogu’s career, all her roads led back to Austin. Adversities were stepping stools towards her future. With each progression, she embraced another playing field, and now it has come full circle.
“Getting to play in the city that I went to school in is really special,” says Ogbogu. “I never thought I would. I'm just approaching every day with so much gratitude, because I never imagined in my career there would be a league in the states. I thought this would happen way after I was done.”
The founding of the professional league set a precedent for U.S. volleyball. Players are watching their sport transform while young players are witnessing their futures’ take shape. LOVB’s six professional teams train with associated youth clubs in facilities across the United States.
“The things that [LOVB] could have done for me as a young player, and seeing girls that look like me at the best level,” says Ogbogu. “That was far and few between. I think the sport can get even more diverse. But speaking from that perspective, I'm sure there are so many young girls who are now getting to see themselves at the highest level. We're so well represented in this league.”
As teams consider Austin for expansion possibilities, the widening sports frontier could hold more for the city.
“It's time,” says Ogbogu. “Hopefully this inspires other sports teams or leagues. Austin is deserving.”
Ogbogu’s involvement as a founding athlete in LOVB has shown her how passionate she is about women’s sports, especially the evolution and expansion of it.
“I would love to explore what being a GM and owner looks like on a sports team,” she says. “I don't know who better than former athletes to make an organization something people want to play for. Now it's a possibility.”
The full circle nature of Ogbogu's role in women’s sports is proof of the doors LOVB is opening for players. Mid-career, Ogbogu resembles the woman her younger self needed.
“[My former club coaches] are saying, ‘You guys don't understand what you're doing, because you're in it now,’” she says. “‘But you might be changing a lot of these young girls' worlds and viewpoints of what they can accomplish if they stick with it.’”
And, she’s getting to do it in the city she loves. As a through and through Austinite, Ogbogu enjoys days at Zilker Park with a good book and friends. She’s a self-proclaimed “food and drink girlie” indulging her inner foodie through visits to restaurants saved on Instagram – fun fact: she regards Torchy’s Tacos as home to the best queso in Austin. If Ogbogu later decides against the path of becoming a team owner or manager, an Austin food critic should hold a close second.
Whichever avenue Ogbogu pursues, her future is limitless.
