Italy’s Elisa Togut had a very good year in 2002. This exceptional wing-spiker was named Most Valuable Player at the 2002 World Championship and picked up $100,000 in the FIVB Excellence Awards in December for her efforts.

The international media sung her praises for her performance at the Worlds, even in the U.S.A. whose team the Italians defeated in a gripping World Championship final.

"The gold medal match of the 2002 Women's Volleyball World Championships boiled down to too much Elisa Togut and not enough Keba Phipps,” one publication reported. (The US player Phipps was out with an eye injury). “Togut scored a match-high 32 points as Italy defeated the United States, 3-2, Sunday in front of a sellout crowd of 9,000 fans at Max-Schmelling-Halle.
“Even without Phipps in the lineup, the United States found itself tied with Italy, 9-9, in the fifth and deciding set of the match. That's when Togut took control, powering home three straight winners to give Italy the lead for good. Another Togut kill ended the match and Team USA's 10-match winning streak in the tournament. After the match, she was honored as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.”

Elisa Togut has all the characteristics necessary for a top-level volleyball player: she can serve from a great height; she has a hard and variable attack, she is courageous and self confident. Italian coach Marco Bonitta Coach sings her praises, saying: "She is one of the best attackers in the world.”

Born in 1978, the 192 cm Togut has been featuring in top competitions since 1998. Her trophy cabinet includes a bronze medal from the European Championship in 1999, a silver medal at the 2001 European Championship, another at the 2002 Montreux Volley Masters and the 2002 World Championship gold medal.

Now playing for Club Monte Schiavo, Togut confesses passion for pancakes with Nuttela, Hop Hop music and romantic novels. She will certainly be one to watch at the 2003 World Grand Prix, played before her home crowd in Italy.