Long Beach State’s May Gets Another Honor

Misty May’s list of accolades grew a little longer and a lot more impressive Monday night when she was named the winner of the 1998-99 Honda Broderick Cup, awarded to the nation’s outstanding female collegiate athlete, at a dinner at Reno, Nev.

The award, voted on by more than 900 schools and a national board of directors, caps off one of the most distinguished careers in collegiate women’s volleyball. May, the Long Beach State setter, adds the Broderick Cup to her two American Volleyball Coaches Assn. player of the year awards.

“I’m proud to be honored with such a great cup,” May said. “When you’re sitting there waiting for the announcement you’re greedy. You want to win but you want everybody else to win.”

The award also finishes off quite a season for May. May led the 49ers to their third national championship last December, defeating Penn State to become the only NCAA team to finish undefeated at 36-0.

May, who is from Costa Mesa and attended Newport Harbor High, was named co-most valuable player of the Final Four in December, after setting an NCAA record with 20 aces in the 64-team tournament. In the championship match, she had 70 assists, 11 digs, nine kills and four blocks.

May, whose stiffest competition for the award came from basketball player Stephanie White-McCarty of Purdue, is the first Long Beach State player and fifth from the Southland to win the Broderick Cup in its 24-year history.

UCLA’s Lisa Fernandez, softball, 1992-93, Jackie Joyner, track and field, 1983-84, and Ann Meyers, basketball, 1977-78, and USC’s Cheryl Miller, basketball, 1983-84, also won the award.

Past winners of the Broderick Cup include basketball players Chamique Holdsclaw, who won it last year at Tennessee, Rebecca Lobo and Dawn Staley, and soccer star Mia Hamm.

Along with May, UCLA athletic administrator Judy Holland, one of the founders of the Honda Awards Program, was given the Award of Merit.

Other winners were Melinda Almazan, a volleyball player from Division II Regis College in Denver, softball player Kelly Schade from Division III Simpson College in Iowa, and The Inspiration Award went to Jeni Jones of Florida, who overcame a rare neurological disease to not only play volleyball, but lead the Gators to the NCAA semifinals.