Roza Salikhova was a dominant attacker for the USSR in the late 1960s and through most of the 1970s.

Her passion for sports began while in school, but she did not begin practicing volleyball until she was a young adult. She would watch and learn from other more experienced players and quickly found herself in the team’s starting lineup after only six months playing for Uralochka, one of the nation’s top clubs!

In 1966, Salikhova joined the Soviet Union’s Women’s National Team and began to work harder than she ever had before. Her drive and determination once again paid off as she became a member of the starting six.

Together with fellow Hall of Famers Inna Ryskal, Nina Smoleeva, and Lyudmila Buldakova the team earned gold medals at both the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games as the USSR was in a class of its own during that period – one of the dominant teams in the history of the sport.

In between the two gold medals, Salikhova helped the USSR to the 1970 FIVB World Championship gold medal and later captured the silver medal at the 1974 FIVB World Championship.

In 1970, Salikhova moved to Moscow and played for Dynamo Moscow for seven seasons.  During her professional career she won six USSR championships, along with six European Champions Cup titles between 1970 and 1977.

Her medal collection also includes gold medals at the 1967 and 1971 European Championships along with the inaugural FIVB World Cup in 1973.

Salikhova was presented the USSR Honorable Master of Sport in 1968 and was later honored with the Order “Sign of Honor.”

While her playing career came to an end in 1977, Salikhova shared her passion for the sport with young players and went on to coach from 1980 to 2004. 

And so, we welcome Roza Salikhova, in the player category, as a 2014 Inductee to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.