Merit Adigwe

Merit Adigwe
Personal information
Born24 August 2006 (2006-08-24) (age 20)
Crema, Italy
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Honours
Women's volleyball
Representing  Italy
FIVB Nations League
Bronze medal – third place2026 MacauTeam
European Championship
Silver medal – second place2026 Azerbaijan-Czechia-Sweden-TurkeyTeam

Merit Adigwe (born 24 August 2006) is an Italian volleyball player.

Life and career

Born in Crema to a family of Nigerian origin, Adigwe began playing volleyball at 15, first as a middle blocker before becoming an opposite hitter. In 2022, she became champion at the U18 European Championship, scoring 21 points in the final. She later won bronze at the 2023 U19 World Championship and silver at the 2024 U20 European Championship. The same year, she made her A1 League debut with Imoco Volley. In 2025, she became world champion and was named MVP of the tournament at the U21 World Championship.

In 2026, Adigwe won the gold at the U22 European Volleyball Championship, and the same year, she made her debut with the Italian team at the Nations League, in which Italy went on to win the bronze. She was later selected to be part of the Italian roster at the 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Arcari, Marco (9 December 2024). "Chi è Merit Adigwe, la vice-Haak di Conegliano: opposta italiana classe 2006, già decisiva tra Imoco e under azzurre". Eurosport. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Merit "Meme" Adigwe: regina del Mondiale Under 21". VolleyballWorld.com (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  3. ↑ Salvini, Laerte. "Per Velasco è "l'eccezione", ora vuole prendersi l'azzurro: chi è Merit Adigwe, la vice Egonu". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Volley U22 femminile. Italia campione d'Europa: la cremasca Merit Adigwe Mvp!". Il Nuovo Torrazzo (in Italian). 13 July 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Barbacci, Roberto (4 June 2026). "L'Italvolley scopre Merit Adigwe: "l'eccezione" voluta da Velasco non ha fatto rimpiangere Egonu e Antropova". Virgilio Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Europei su Sky, le 14 convocate del ct Velasco". Sky Sport (in Italian). 25 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.