Tayyiba Haneef-Park


Tayyiba Mumtaz Haneef-Park is a retired American indoor volleyball player. She played at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where the team finished in 5th place. Haneef-Park also competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she won a silver medal with team USA. After her pregnancy in 2010, she returned to Team USA to repeat their silver medal performance at the 2012 London Olympics. Both times USA lost to Brazil. She is currently the Director of Basketball Administration for the UC Irvine Women's basketball team.

High school and personal life

Haneef-Park was born in Upland, California, to Mobarik and Patricia Haneef. She grew up in Laguna Hills, California, and attended Laguna Hills High School from 1993–1997 where she led the Hawks to the 1997 DII title and was named the California Athlete of the Year and was the Pacific Coast MVP. She also participated in track and field, winning the CIF California State Meet in the high jump in 1997.
Her name, Tayyiba, is Arabic. Her father's family is Muslim, but she is not.
Her cousin, Tari Phillips, is a former WNBA player currently playing basketball in Italy.
Haneef-Park, who married U.S. Air Force pilot Anthony Park in May 2007, announced her pregnancy on August 21, 2009, through Facebook. The baby was due in March 2010. She resumed training with the U.S. national team in the summer of 2010.
In 2009, Haneef-Park joined Jennifer Joines Tamas appearing on Dr. Phil discussing their exceptional height. Haneef-Park is the third tallest Olympic volleyball player, marginally behind two Russian players.

College highlights

At Long Beach State she was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America first team in 2001 after leading LBSU in kills per game as a senior. She guided the 49'ers to a 33–1 record and a runner-up finish at the 2001 NCAA Championships. She was a three-time All-Big West first-team selection. As a senior in 2001, she posted a hitting percentage of 0.406 and also averaged 2.31 digs and 0.73 blocks per game as a senior. She was also a three-time All-American high jumper at LBSU, and she competed at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, finishing 10th with a jump of 5–10 ¾. Haneef-Park was inducted into the 49er Athletic Hall of Fame at Long Beach State on November 19, 2008.

Recent international competition