BLOOMINGTON - Ogonna Nnamani returned to her parents' Bloomington home on Wisteria Lane Wednesday bearing precious cargo. Inside a shiny red box was the silver medal she helped the U.S. indoor volleyball team win at the Beijing Olympics. | VIDEO: Ogonna shows off her medal

The 6-foot-1 outside hitter, now 25 but looking young enough to still play for her alma mater, University High School, was all smiles as she recounted the adventure of a lifetime.

"I'm so happy for our team," said Nnamani, recalling the 2004 Athens Olympics when her team came home empty handed. "We really focused and we came back with something."

The No. 4-world ranked Americans upset No. 2 Italy and No. 3 Cuba to earn a spot in the gold medal match against No. 1 Brazil.

"In pool play, (Cuba) really handed it to us," Nnamani said. "The next time we came after them. They made so many errors and kind of self destructed. Italy was good, too. It was self destruction again. When you give teams pressure, they act differently."

The U.S. beat five of the world's top nine ranked squads during the Olympics. Nnamani held out hope for a win over Brazil, which the U.S. had beaten during the past year.

"They were really rolling on all cylinders," she said. "They have so many weapons on their team. They are a very consistent, steady team."

Nnamani came off the bench in the third set of the gold medal match to notch three kills in five attempts.

"I was real excited," she said. "I was pumped up and ready to go. I like playing against them. I'm real comfortable with their style of play."

Nnamani played sparingly during the Olympics, but said rust wasn't a problem.

"We practiced on game days and non-game days three hours a day," she said. "I'm always ready."

U.S. coach Jenny Lang Ping did not explain her distribution of playing time to her players. Nnamani wasn't frustrated about her lack of action, noting she was the team's second youngster member.

"Us younger players, sometimes you kind have to wait your chance to carry more responsibility," Nnamani said. "Whenever I was able to play, I wasn't shy. I wanted to give everything I had to the team."

Nnamani felt lucky to be on the team considering the injuries and illness she battled in 2005 and 2006.

Nnamani's best Olympic match came in a win over Poland in which she had 11 kills, three blocks and three aces.

"Against Poland, I just wanted to be aggressive out there," she said.

The U.S. team's veteran lineup may not change as much as some think heading into the 2012 London Olympics.

"The Olympic fever always continues," Nnamani said. "If people are healthy and able to compete, they are all going to try to come back. That's my guess."

The Americans pulled together after the death of Todd Bachman, whose daughter Elisabeth is the wife of U.S. men's coach Hugh McCutcheon and a 2004 U.S. Olympic team member. Todd Bachman was killed by an assailant at a tourist site in Beijing.

"It was really hard," Nnamani said. "We were all really down. It was very difficult for everyone involved. We were very close to Elisabeth and her family because she was on our team in 2004. Every game we always prayed for them. We wrote her name on our hand."

Nnamani called the Opening Ceremonies "breathtaking."

"When they call your delegation, it's the best feeling," she said.

Nnamani also got a kick out of meeting Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Yao Ming, Michael Phelps, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie and fellow Bloomington native Christin Wurth-Thomas.

"I took a picture with Christin," Nnamani said. "That was neat to see her."

Nnamani enjoyed life in the Olympic Village.

"It's always neat to meet people from all over the world," she said.

Nnamani, whose family got the see her play in Beijing, is weighing her options to play professionally overseas beginning in October. She played last year in Italy and the year before in Switzerland.

"I'm looking everywhere … Turkey, Greece, Asia, Japan..," she said.