UCF alumnus Phil Dalhausser is back at it again for Team USA. The 2002 business graduate and beach volleyballer is set to compete in his third Summer Olympics this month as the Rio Games kick off Friday.
Dalhausser is one of three UCF alumni who will compete in the Olympics this year. He was crowned champion at the 2008 Beijing Games, where he won a gold medal. UCF alumni Aline Reis ’11 (Brazil, soccer) and Ricardo Gouveia ’14 (Portugal, golf), will make their first Olympic Games appearances.
Dalhausser was introduced to beach volleyball at Daytona Beach Mainland High School, where his coach liked to have his team practice on the sand to give the squad an advantage in the indoor game. His fondness for the game grew at UCF where he played club indoor volleyball and found ways to get extra practice on sand.
“They had sand courts on campus and Orlando had a nice little volleyball community and almost every night those courts were packed. So I would be at the courts probably more often than when I was in class,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “Any time I could get a game in, I’d be down there playing. I guess you could say I was obsessed with it.”
In his first Olympics appearance in 2008, he not only won gold but was also named Most Outstanding Player for beach competition.
He was honored as USA Volleyball’s Beach Team of the Year in 2015 with his partner Nick Lucena. The teammates promoted the Road to Rio on NBC’s The Today Show in April.
In addition to his many career highlights, he is a Michelle Akers Award winner (2009), which is the university’s highest honor given to alumni who have brought international, positive attention to UCF through their accomplishments.
Dalhausser, 36, and a father of two, has publicly said he expects these Games to be his last, so he has his heart set on making them unforgettable.
“There’s never been a male player who’s won two gold medals on the beach side, so I’d like to be the first to do that. That’d be pretty sweet,” he told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Beach volleyball is set to compete at Copacabana Beach from Aug. 6 to 18. Dalhausser’s first match is scheduled Aug. 7 against Tunisia at 3:30 p.m. and will stream live on www.nbcolympics.com.