Misty May-Treanor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Misty May-Treanor
May-Treanor preparing to serve during a tournament in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor
Nationality	American
Born	(1977-07-30) July 30, 1977 (age 48) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	159 lb (72 kg)
College(s)	Long Beach State
Beach volleyball information
Years Teammate 2011–2012 2001–2009 1999–2000 Kerri Walsh Jennings Kerri Walsh Jennings Holly McPeak
Medal record Representing the  United States Women's beach volleyball Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Beach Gold 2008 Beijing Beach Gold 2012 London Beach World Championships Gold 2003 Rio de Janeiro Beach Gold 2005 Berlin Beach Gold 2007 Gstaad Beach Silver 2011 Rome Beach World Tour Gold 2002 Madrid Beach Gold 2002 Gstaad Beach Gold 2002 Montreal Beach Gold 2002 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2002 Maoming Beach Gold 2003 Gstaad Beach Gold 2003 Marseille Beach Gold 2003 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2003 Carson Beach Gold 2004 Fortaleza Beach Gold 2004 Rhodes Beach Gold 2004 Gstaad Beach Gold 2005 Portugal Beach Gold 2005 Paris Beach Gold 2005 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2005 Brazil Beach Gold 2005 South Africa Beach Gold 2006 Greece Beach Gold 2006 Gstaad Beach Gold 2006 Mexico Beach Gold 2007 Paris Beach Gold 2007 Montreal Beach Gold 2007 Berlin Beach Gold 2007 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2007 Brazil Beach Gold 2007 Phuket Beach Gold 2008 Berlin Beach Gold 2008 Paris Beach Gold 2008 Stavanger Beach Gold 2011 Beijing Beach Gold 2011 Moscow Beach Gold 2011 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2012 Gstaad Beach Silver 2002 Marseille Beach Silver 2002 Mallorca Beach Silver 2002 Vitória Beach Silver 2003 Stavanger Beach Silver 2005 Acapulco Beach Silver 2006 Italy Beach Silver 2006 Paris Beach Silver 2011 Brasília Beach Silver 2011 PAF Beach Silver 2011 The Hague Beach Silver 2012 Moscow Beach Bronze 2002 Osaka Beach Bronze 2003 Rhodes Beach Bronze 2006 Brazil Beach Bronze 2006 Thailand Beach Bronze 2007 Stavanger Beach Bronze 2010 Stavanger Beach Women's volleyball Pan American Games Bronze 1999 Winnipeg Indoor

Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor (born July 30, 1977) is an American retired professional beach volleyball player. She is famous for winning three Olympic gold medals. As of 2012, she was the most successful female beach volleyball player ever. She won 112 tournaments in both national and international competitions.

Misty May-Treanor and her teammate Kerri Walsh Jennings won gold medals in beach volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, and 2012 Summer Olympics. They also won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007. This amazing pair set many records together. One record was winning 112 matches in a row (19 tournaments in a row) from 2007 to 2008. They broke their own record of 89 straight wins. Many people call them "the greatest beach volleyball team of all time."

May-Treanor stopped playing professionally on August 8, 2012. This was right after she and Walsh Jennings won their third gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was honored by being added to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Misty's Early Life and Education

Misty May was born in 1977 in Los Angeles. Her mother, Barbara, was a top tennis player. Her father, Butch May, was part of the 1968 U.S. men's national volleyball team. Misty has two older half-brothers, Brack and Scott.

She grew up playing beach volleyball with her parents at the Santa Monica Pier. When she was 8, she played in her first beach volleyball tournament with her dad. Misty also played soccer and tennis. She even took dance classes. As a child, a future national volleyball star, Karch Kiraly, sometimes babysat her.

High School Years

Misty grew up in Costa Mesa, California. She went to Newport Harbor High School from 1991 to 1995. She helped her volleyball team win the state championship in 1992 and 1994. In 1993, she was named the Division I All-CIF Player of the Year. The next year, USA Today chose her as the best high school girls' volleyball player in the country.

At Newport Harbor High, she also did track and field. She was very good at the high jump. In 1993, she finished second in the high jump at the state meet. Years later, in 2014, May-Treanor was one of the first people added to Newport Harbor High School's Hall of Fame.

College Volleyball Career

May-Treanor played volleyball for the Long Beach State 49ers from 1995 to 1999. In 1998, the team she led had a perfect season. They were the first women's NCAA volleyball team to go undefeated. She earned a degree in kinesiology (the study of body movement) in 2002. In 2004, she was added to the Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame.

During her time there, she won many awards. These included the Honda Sports Award for the best female volleyball player in the nation. She also won the Honda-Broderick Cup for the best overall female college athlete in 1998–99. She was named National Player of the Year in both 1997 and 1998.

Winning the 1998 NCAA Championship

As the main setter in 1998, May-Treanor led Long Beach State University to win the Division I NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. They had an amazing 36–0 record. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She set a record with 20 service aces during the championship.

Graduate Studies

After college, she went to Concordia University in Irvine, California. She earned a master's degree in coaching and athletic administration. She received her degree on May 4, 2013.

Misty's Professional Volleyball Journey

Misty May played her first professional match in May 1999. This was on the AVP tour, while she was still in college. After graduating in 1999, she joined the United States women's national volleyball team. However, after a few months, she decided to focus on beach volleyball. She then teamed up with Holly McPeak.

Their first tournament together was in Brazil in November 1999. They finished 9th. In 2000, May and McPeak started to find success. They won their first tournament together in April. They also won two tournaments on the FIVB tour. May was named the BVA Rookie of the Year for 2000. With their wins, they qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the Olympics, they reached the quarterfinals. They finished tied for 5th place.

Dominance with Kerri Walsh Jennings

After the 2000 season, May teamed up with Kerri Walsh. May played as a defender behind Walsh's strong blocks. Instead of playing on the AVP tour, they spent 2001 and 2002 playing on the international FIVB tour. This helped them gain valuable experience. They won their first FIVB tour championship in 2002. In 2003, May and Walsh joined the AVP tour. They were named "Team of the Year" after winning all their domestic matches. They had 39 wins and no losses. On the international tour in 2003, they won 52 matches and lost only 4.

From 2001 until 2008, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings were the best team in beach volleyball. They dominated both the AVP and FIVB tours. At one point, they had an amazing win streak of 112 matches in a row. This included 19 straight tournament titles. This streak lasted from August 2007 to August 2008. They broke their own previous record of 89 straight wins.

After the Beijing Olympics

Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor in 2012

After winning their gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings returned to the AVP Tour. Their 112-match win streak ended when they lost to Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs. They lost again in September 2008 to April Ross and Jennifer Kessy. This was the first time since April 2007 that they did not reach an AVP tour final.

In 2010, Walsh Jennings took a break to have her second son. May-Treanor then teamed up with Nicole Branagh. They won several tournaments together, but it was a challenging year for them.

Dealing with Injuries

Misty May-Treanor played much of her 2002 season with a torn PCL (a knee ligament). She had surgery in September of that year to fix it.

After winning her gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, May-Treanor tore her Achilles tendon. This happened during dance practice for the TV show Dancing with the Stars. The injury was successfully repaired. However, she did not return to competition for almost a year.

Misty's Retirement

Just before playing with Kerri Walsh Jennings for their third gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, May-Treanor announced her retirement. She confirmed this decision shortly after their Olympic victory.

Coaching Career

May-Treanor was part of the women's volleyball coaching staff at Irvine Valley College starting in 2001. Her high school coach, Tom Pestolesi, was the head coach there.

As of July 2016, she is the Director of Volleyball at Long Beach City College. She coaches both the women's indoor and beach volleyball teams. Under her leadership, the teams have done very well. In the 2016–17 season, the indoor team won their first conference title in 16 years. They also reached the second round of the state playoffs. For beach volleyball, her team made it to the state finals in their first year. One of her teams even won the state title. In the 2017–18 season, the indoor team had another strong year.

She also owns a beach volleyball club called Dream in Gold (DIG). This club helps train the next generation of beach volleyball players.

Olympic Achievements

U.S. President George W. Bush visits May-Treanor (left) and Walsh Jennings (right) at the 2008 Olympics.

Sydney 2000 Olympics

In her first Olympics in Sydney in 2000, Misty May finished fifth. She played with her partner Holly McPeak. She was affected by an abdominal injury during the games.

Athens 2004 Olympics

Misty May and Kerri Walsh were on a 90-match win streak when they arrived at the 2004 Summer Olympics. They continued their winning ways. In the semifinals, they beat fellow Americans Holly McPeak (Misty's former partner) and Elaine Youngs. May and Walsh then defeated Brazil in the final match to win the gold medal. They did not lose a single set in all seven matches they played.

Beijing 2008 Olympics

On August 21, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won their second Olympic gold medal. They defeated the top-ranked Chinese team in two games. They are the only beach volleyball team to win gold medals in two Olympics in a row. May-Treanor was named the Most Outstanding Player for the women's competition.

London 2012 Olympics

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In the first round, they extended their Olympic winning streak to 32 sets in a row without a loss. They won against Australia and the Czech Republic. Their streak ended when they lost their first set to the Schwaiger sisters from Austria. However, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings still won that match.

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings then defeated fellow Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy in the final. This win earned them their third gold medal.

Community Involvement

May-Treanor's official portrait as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

May-Treanor is a Sports Ambassador for Special Olympics Southern California. This means she helps support and promote sports for people with intellectual disabilities.

Misty's Personal Life

Misty May started dating professional baseball catcher, Matt Treanor, in January 2004. They got married in November of that year. She and her husband live in Yorba Linda, CA. May-Treanor gave birth to their first child, Malia Barbara, on June 3, 2014. The couple later had twin girls, Mele Elizarin and Mia Kanoelani, on November 9, 2017.

Misty May-Treanor's aunt, Betty Ann Grubb Stuart, and her cousin, Taylor Dent, were both professional tennis players.

A tattoo on May-Treanor's shoulder shows an angel with the initials "B.M." This is a special dedication to her mother, Barbara May, who passed away from cancer in 2002.

Television Appearances

May-Treanor has appeared on several TV shows. These include Dancing with the Stars, CSI: Miami, Wizards of Waverly Place, and the Late Show with David Letterman.

In 2008, she was a contestant on season 7 of Dancing with the Stars. Her dance partner was Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She had to leave the competition after she tore her Achilles tendon during a practice session.

After the 2008 Olympics, May-Treanor was on an episode of the Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place. On August 14, 2012, she appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

May-Treanor also appeared on an episode of Hell's Kitchen as a special guest.

Awards and Honors

May (face not seen) celebrates with Kerri Walsh Jennings after defeating Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Olympics quarterfinal match

College Awards

Big West Conference Honors

• Big West Conference Freshman of the Year: 1995
• All-Big West First Team: 1995–1998 (four times)
• Big West Player of the Year: 1996–1998 (three times)
• Big West Player of the Week: 6 times

NCAA Honors

• NCAA Division I First Team All-American: 1997, 1998
• National Player of the Year: 1997, 1998
• Honda Sports Award: 1998–99
• Honda-Broderick Cup: 1998–99
• NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player: 1998

Professional Awards

AVP Tour Awards

• AVP Best Defensive Player: 2006–2008 (three times)
• AVP Best Offensive Player: 2004–2008 (five times)
• AVP Crocs Cup Champion: 2006–2008 (three times, all with Kerri Walsh)
• AVP Most Valuable Player: 2005–2008 (four times)
• AVP Team of the Year: 2003–2008 (six times, all with Kerri Walsh)

FIVB Tour Awards

• FIVB Best Defender: 2007–2008 (two times)
• FIVB Best Attacker: 2005, 2007–2008 (three times)
• FIVB Best Setter: 2005
• FIVB Most Outstanding Player: 2005, 2008 (two times)
• FIVB Sportsperson: 2007, 2008 (two times)
• FIVB Tour Champion: 2002 (with Kerri Walsh)

BVA Tour Awards

• BVA Rookie of the Year: 2000

Other Notable Honors

Olympics

• Most Outstanding Player at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.

Women's Sports Foundation

• Sportswoman of the Year Award: 2004, 2006 (with Kerri Walsh)

Hall of Fame Inductions

Misty May-Treanor has been inducted into several Halls of Fame:

• Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame: 2004
• Newport Harbor High School Hall of Fame: 2014
• International Volleyball Hall of Fame: 2016
• Southern California Indoor Hall of Fame: 2017

Key Achievements

• Most women's career tournament victories: 112
• Most women's career earnings: $2,132,733
• Most women's international career wins: 43
• Record win streak of 112 consecutive matches and 19 straight tournaments. This amazing streak lasted from August 2007 to August 2008.

See also

In Spanish: Misty May-Treanor para niños