ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Volleyball can be a loud sport from the cheering, the plays and the sets. But what if you can’t hear it?


What You Need To Know

  • The men's and women's USA national deaf indoor volleyball teams practiced at Rochester Institute of Technology, holding scrimmages with other local teams as they train to compete in the Deaf Olympics in Tokyo this year

  • With the team's most recent win, the Women’s national team took silver at the fifth World Deaf Volleyball Tournament in Okinawa, Japan last June

  • Established in 1981, USA Deaf Volleyball (USADVB) has produced some of the world’s best deaf volleyball teams

“When I was seven months old, when I was a baby, my parents found out that I was deaf,” USA deaf women’s volleyball player Grace Phelan said. 

Communicating solely through sign language, she has experienced both the hearing and deaf world.

“I got hearing aids and I was raised in a hearing family going to a hearing school,” Phelan said. “I went to a deaf camp for the first time and I started learning and getting involved in deaf culture.”

However, despite dealing with an early diagnosis, this never waivered Phelan’s spirit to putting her head in the game. 

“I always looked up to volleyball players in general,” Phelan said. “So now, you know, being successful and reaching my goals, I really want to show those younger girls that look up to us that they can succeed too, just like me.”

Finding communication to be one of the key points in playing sports, Phelan says this has not been a disadvantage. 

“The deaf team can communicate a lot better than hearing teams because we recognize each other's body language a lot better,” Phelan said. 

That special communication led Phelan and the national team to take silver at the 2024 World Deaf Volleyball championships in Japan.

“The Deaf Olympics are a good place where many of our deaf and hard of hearing players can look into their deaf identity,” indoor national team director Cory Behm said. “What it means to be a deaf athlete in representing your own country. Not many of us had the opportunity to do that here in Japan. That's really awesome.”

Head coach Ann Behm hopes to continue the winning streak, training their athletes at the Rochester Institute of Technology, which is home of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a world leader in deaf education and a stomping ground for many of its athletes.

“I was actually a player right before I came here, so I love playing,” Behm said. “I think when I retired, I wanted to give back. So being a coach, that's a big part of my heart.”