Rachel Wacholder Scott

Class of 2026
Active: 2005 - 2013
8 Open Victories

Rachel Scott, born Rachel Wacholder, built the foundation for her volleyball career at the University of Colorado, where she started for four seasons and left as one of the most productive players in program history. She earned second-team All-Big Eight honors in 1994–95 and first-team All-Big 12 honors in 1996, graduating with a communications degree while setting 32 school records and finishing third in career kills with 1,484.

Turning pro on the beach, Scott's signature partnership came alongside Elaine Youngs, with whom she captured five AVP titles — three in 2005 and two in 2006 — while earning the AVP's Best Defensive Player and Most Improved Player honors in 2005. Her defensive prowess and competitiveness became hallmarks of her game throughout a career that spanned more than a decade on tour.

Among her career highlights, Scott won two FIVB Grand Slam titles in 2004 alongside Kerri Walsh. She then upset top-seeded Olympic gold medalists Walsh and Misty May-Treanor in Huntington Beach snapping their 50-match winning streak. By 2009, after briefly stepping away to have her son and returning to competition, Scott had played 168 professional events, won eight tournaments, finished runner-up 22 times, and earned more than $750,000 in career prize money.

Scott's contributions to the sport have been recognized well beyond the sand: she was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024. Her Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame induction adds to a legacy built on toughness, defense, and some of the biggest upsets the sport has seen.