Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/14045
46 LIVEMAGS.NET AUGUST>>10 May-Treanor's story begins with her Hawaii-born father, Butch, a member of the 1968 U.S Men's Indoor Olympic Volleyball team and her Southern California-born mother, Barbara, a ranked junior tennis player. Both were accomplished beach volleyball players and from them sprang a gifted, driven champion. "Misty is a magical player," said Troy Tanner, who coached May-Treanor and Walsh for the Beijing Olympics. "She is blessed with all of these physical gifts like hand-eye quickness and her jump. And even through she is blessed, she also has worked so hard. Her work ethic makes it double special how good, fast, and strong she is." Young Misty was raised on Santa Monica's Muscle Beach, soaking up beach volleyball from watching her parents in countless tournaments and learning the basics from her father. She was constantly surrounded by her "beach family" which included legendary player Kathy Gregory and a young Karch Kiraly. Her parents later moved to Costa Mesa where May- Treanor played indoor volleyball for Newport Harbor High School as the MVP on their 1994 CIF Division I State Championship team. She also played with the Long Beach Ichiban volleyball club and attended CSULB's summer volleyball camp from sixth grade through the end of high school. By the time she was a senior, May-Treanor was the nation's top high school recruit and had her choice of collegiate volleyball programs. She chose CSULB, whose two previous NCAA championships drew top athletes from across the country to the school. Most of all, she wanted to learn from now-retired setting coach, Debbie Green, and head coach Brian Gimmillaro. "Brian is a big technical coach, Debbie was from the 1984 Silver Medal Olympics team, and it was a really good staff," she recalled. "They expected a lot from the athletes and pushed them to take their full potential and that's what makes them great. With every freshman, they have a vision of what they want and what they expect and they do everything they can to get you there." With May-Treanor as their setter, CSULB won the 1998 NCAA Championship and she was named co-MVP. After graduation and a brief stay with the U.S. National Indoor Volleyball Team, she would permanently leave the hardwood for the sand, teaming with Holly McPeak for a fifth- place beach volleyball finish at the 2000 Sydney Games. Soon after, May-Treanor's parents played matchmaker and partnered their daughter with four-time NCAA All- American, Kerri Walsh. Little did they know they had created one of the top beach volleyball teams of all time. It was during the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics where May-Treanor came to international prominence. To win their first gold medal, she and Walsh would need less than an hour to defeat a renowned Brazilian team. Their second would come during an undefeated streak that closed at an unbelievable 112 matches and 19 titles. It was a streak that lived on May-Treanor's ability to make the play when it counted. "At some point, at crunch time, you needed a big play and she always came up with one. I had confidence in her, her partner had confidence in her, and she had confidence in herself," said Tanner, now owner of the Irvine Tstreet Volleyball Club and an international beach volleyball consultant.