Top ten high-flying monsters of men’s volleyball starring Bartosz Kurek, Ilia Vlasov and Taylor Sander

Most athletically-gifted men who possess serious hops will gravitate toward basketball as their sport of choice, but there are plenty of world-class leapers that choose to terrorize volleyball courts instead.

The top ten high-flying volleyballers (with peak spike height) are 🇨🇺 Cuba’s Wilfredo Leon (365 cm), 🇷🇺 Russia’s Ilia Vlasov (370 cm), Italy’s Ivan Zaytsev (360 cm), 🇨🇺 Cuba’s Joandry Leal (361 cm), the 🇺🇸 United States’ Taylor Sander (360 cm), 🇵🇱 Poland’s Bartosz Kurek (375 cm), 🇷🇺 Russia’s Victor Poletaev (365 cm), 🇧🇷 Brazil’s Wallace de Souza (365 cm), 🇨🇺 Cuba’s Leonel Marshall (360 cm), 🇯🇵 Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa (355 cm).

Of all the legendary leapers, none attacks from as elevated a position as two-time Olympian Kurek. The six-foot-nine outside hitter can spike the ball at a height of nearly 12 feet 4 inches.

Kurek’s springs for legs helped him power the Polish team to gold medal in the 2012 FIVB Volleyball World League.