Paul Benedict Sunderland (born March 29, 1952) is an American professional sportscaster who resides in Los Angeles, California.

Sunderland grew up in Sherman Oaks, in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.

[1] He started playing volleyball on the beach during his high school years, and states he had an immediate love for the game.

[3] Sunderland was invited to try out for the United States national team in 1975, and he made the cut for the developmental squad.

[1] Sunderland moved up to the "A" squad, after the United States team failed to qualify for the 1976 Summer Olympics.

[3] The United States failed to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics, held in Moscow, of the Soviet Union.

It was clear that the teams that the United States put together following the USVBA nationals were no longer adequate in order to compete on the international level.

The program hired former player Doug Beal as a full-time coach of the United States men's national team in 1977.

[1] He was joined on the national team in San Diego by a collection of the top collegiate talent from the California area, including Karch Kiraly, Dusty Dvorak, Steve Timmons, Craig Buck, Steven Salmons, Pat Powers and Doug Partie.

Sunderland's hiring was a morale boost to Marlowe, who had been doing broadcast work for a number of years, usually paired with personnel with little or no volleyball experience.

"[5] Sunderland's first assignment was in 1985 working with Marlowe at the NCAA Men's Volleyball West Regional match between San Diego State and Pepperdine.

"[1] From the color commentator spot, Sunderland moved on to do play-by-play, and extended into basketball and other sports.

[10] Sunderland has twice won the Emmy Award for his play-by-play announcing with the Los Angeles Lakers.