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Mike Lambert:
 
Mike Lambert
United States  
 
Vital Statistics
 

Photo: Ken Delgado
Birth Date April 14, 1974 (49 years old)
Home Town Kaneohe, HI
Resides Costa Mesa, CA
Height 6'6"
College Stanford
  Best Finish Winnings
United States 1st (16 times) $467,038
   AVP 1st (16 times) $440,913
   AVP HWN* 2nd (3 times) $12,500
   Pro Beach 9th $1,125
   Bonus Money   $12,500
International 3rd (2 times) $52,900
   FIVB 3rd (2 times) $52,900
Overall 1st (16 times) $519,938
 
Bio Bits

"Lambo" or the "Hawaiian Curtain" as he is fondly known by his rivals on the AVP Tour, has taken the beach volleyball community by storm and became one of the sports most promising players in his short career on the AVP Tour. He is the only player to capture multiple AVP wins in each of the last four years (2004-2007). In that span, he has played in 26 championships with four different partners, winning titles with each of them.

 

The 2004 AVP season will be known as "the year of Mike Lambert," after he was named AVP Best Offensive Player, AVP Most Valuable Player and part of AVP Team of the Year with his legendary partner Karch Kiraly. He was again part of the AVP Team of the Year in 2006 with Stein Metzger.

 

Lambert captured four first place finishes in 2004 including the prestigious Manhattan Beach Open which he describes as his greatest accomplishment alongside his role model, Kiraly. He also won the San Diego Open, the Aquafina Shootout in Las Vegas and the Santa Barbara Invitational. Had a podium finish in 10 of the 12 AVP events that season.

In 2005 he won three titles, winning with two different partners plus the individual event in Las Vegas. His title in Cincinnati came in just his second event playing with John Hyden, while the victory in Huntington Beach marked the final victory in Kiraly's career. Lambert was third on the Tour in blocks in 2005 (with 334) while ranking fifth in kills percentage (.594) and ninth in hitting percentage (.434).

He continued his winning ways in 2006 by capturing five more titles, all with Metzger, and finished as the Tour's top-ranked player. On the 2006 AVP Tour he was fourth in blocks (2.08 per game), third in kill percentage (.615), fifth in hitting percentage (.566) and ninth in aces (.57 per game).

In 2007 Lambert won four events with Metzger, and was also selected by Hyden to be his partner in the Las Vegas God of the Beach tournament, helping Hyden win the individual title. Lambert ranked third in blocks (1.91 per game) and hitting percentage (.440), was second in kill percentage (.605) and eighth in aces (.55 per game).

When off the beach, Mike Lambert is a musician at heart and enjoys writing, singing, and playing guitar. He wrote and performed the official anthem of the Tour in 2004 and 2005: "We are the AVP" and "I love the AVP".
 

Lambert was born in Kaneohe, Hawaii and grew up alongside sisters Mia and Debbie, both of whom won national championships (Mia at UCLA in 1990 and Debbie at Stanford in 1996 and 1997). He graduated from Stanford in 1997 with a degree in Political Science. While there, he was a three-time All-American and with AVP player Matt Fuerbringer led the Cardinal to their first and only NCAA National Championship in 1997.

 

Before he transitioned to beach, Lambert was a member of the U.S. National Team for five seasons (1995-1996 and 1998-2000) and was an Olympian in 1996 and 2000. He also played professionally in Italy for four years. 

 

Lambert currently resides in Costa Mesa, California with his wife Deborah and their two children, daughter Sveva (born June 2005) and son Jack (born October 2006).

 

Favorite Movie: North Shore... Favorite Band: Jack Johnson... Favorite Show: Animal Planet... Role Model: Karch Kiraly... Sponsors: Nautica, Gatorade, Visa, Oakley... Favorite Meal: Anything my wife Deborah makes

 

If you weren't playing professional volleyball, what would you be doing?

 
Awards
 
  • CBVA Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame 2018
  • AVP Best Offensive Player 2002, 2004
  • AVP Crocs Cup Champion 2006 (Stein Metzger)
  • AVP Most Valuable Player 2004
  • AVP Rookie of the Year 2002
  • AVP Team of the Year 2004 (Karch Kiraly), 2006 (Stein Metzger)
 
Career Summary
 
United States
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 29th
1997 AVP 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,675.00     0 1 1 0
2001 AVP 4 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 $4,775.00 286.0 40th 0 1 0 1
2002 AVP 7 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 $15,537.50 679.0 11th 1 0 0 0
2004 AVP 12 4 3 3 0 0 1 1 $71,162.50 1,644.0 1st 0 0 0 0
2005 AVP 14 3 1 1 0 2 3 4 $93,850.00 1,770.0 8th 0 0 0 0
2006 AVP 16 5 4 5 1 1 0 0 $145,650.00 2,667.0 1st 0 0 0 0
2007 AVP 18 4 2 6 0 2 2 1 $117,112.50 2,513.0 3rd 0 1 0 0
2008 AVP HWN* 4 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 $12,500.00     0 0 0 0
2008 AVP 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 $3,150.00 144.0 75th 1 0 0 0
2012 AVP 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $500.00 67.5 39th 0 1 0 0
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 29th
2012 Pro Beach 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 $1,125.00 175.0   1 0 0 0
Total
(Rank)
  82
(132nd)
16
(29th)
10 18 2 7 9 7 $467,037.50
(33rd)
9,945.5   3 4 1 1
 
International
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 9th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 29th
2006 FIVB 5 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 $29,850.00 1,020.0 32nd 1 0 0 0
2007 FIVB 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 $23,050.00 720.0 67th 0 3 0 0
Total
(Rank)
  10 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 $52,900.00
(303rd)
1,740.0   1 3 0 0
 
 
 
 
Overall
Total
(Rank)
  92
(309th)
16
(50th)
10 20 2 10 9 8 $519,937.50
(77th)
11,685.5   4 7 1 1
 
* AVP Hot Winter Nights events are exhibitions and only count for tournaments played and prize money won.
 
Red denotes ranked 1st
 
Victory List
 
Victory Date Assoc Location Partner Seed Winnings
1 6/6/2004 AVP Manhattan Beach Karch Kiraly 4 $7,250
2 6/13/2004 AVP San Diego Karch Kiraly 2 $7,250
3 9/11/2004 AVP Las Vegas Karch Kiraly 1 $15,000
4 10/17/2004 AVP Santa Barbara Eric Fonoimoana 2 $7,500
5 7/3/2005 AVP Mason John Hyden 12 $14,000
6 8/13/2005 AVP Huntington Beach Karch Kiraly 7 $14,000
7 9/10/2005 AVP Las Vegas Various 1 $29,750
8 6/17/2006 AVP Sacramento Stein Metzger 2 $10,000
9 7/9/2006 AVP Atlanta Stein Metzger 2 $9,500
10 7/23/2006 AVP Chicago Stein Metzger 1 $12,500
Victory Date Assoc Location Partner Seed Winnings
11 8/19/2006 AVP Brooklyn Stein Metzger 1 $12,500
12 8/27/2006 AVP Boulder Stein Metzger 1 $25,000
13 5/6/2007 AVP Huntington Beach Stein Metzger 2 $10,000
14 6/17/2007 AVP Charleston Stein Metzger 4 $10,000
15 7/8/2007 AVP Seaside Heights Stein Metzger 3 $10,000
16 8/4/2007 AVP Chicago Stein Metzger 1 $14,000
 

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