Topps and Athletes Unlimited joined forces in 2021 to produce the first volleyball card set in the company's history. The 52-card set highlights all of Athletes Unlimited's volleyball players including Olympians Jordan Larson, Sheilla Castro and Bethania de la Cruz. Topps produced the set as part of its on-demand series and was made available to fans and collectors during the five-week season. The set finished with a print run of 3,048 copies, making it a limited-edition collectible for years to come.
2021 Topps Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Base Set and Checklist
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| 2021 Topps Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Cards |
The base set features 47 athletes and five additional cards dedicated to the league and the upcoming Athletes Unlimited softball season. Click here for the set's checklist.
The cards are on glossy stock with the backs dedicated to their personal and professional bios, as well as their college accolades. An interesting aspect of the card design is the interlocking feature between cards when placed side-by-side.
Speaking with Cassidy Lichtman for Forbes right before the season started, she said these Topps card fulfilled an unexpected dream.
“It’s a dream that I didn't know I was supposed to have,” Lichtman said. “Growing up in volleyball, you just
don't expect to get that same kind of level of visibility and
recognition because you never had it. I didn't even think I should be
thinking about it, but now that it's an actual possibility and an actual
thing happening, what an amazing thing! I grew up in a sports family;
we used to buy baseball cards, and my brother collected them. To know
that Topps, which is the name in baseball cards, is giving us our own set and giving us space within the platform that they have, is just kind of surreal.”
2021 Topps Athletes Unlimited Autographs and Parallels
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| 2021 Topps Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Parallels and Autographs |
With each athlete signing 50 cards for Topps, more than 75% of the sets will contain an autograph. The autographs are of the sticker variety, as the short season necessitated a quick turnaround for the set.
In addition to the autographs, each card has four parallels as part of the rainbow, with the elusive Gold 1/1 being the chase cards here. The three other parallels are: Purple / 50, Blue /25 and Orange /5.
The set provided for this review featured a Sherridan Atkinson Purple parallel /50 and a signed Nia Grant card.
2021 Topps Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Set / Box Break Video
Collectors who are finding out about the set after its release will have to hit the secondary market on sites like eBay to pick up a copy. If you want to get a preview of the entire set, watch the box break below as we went through each card in the debut issue.
Topps' partnership with Athletes Unlimited Volleyball is a major step towards tapping into a huge market for one of the most popular sports in the United States, as girls' volleyball is the second most widely participated high school sport in the country. As interest in the league grows, watch for more young fans turn into collectors of their favorite athletes from the league.