May groomed, now eyes gold

Steve Virgen

For the past three weeks, Misty May has been sidelined with an

abdominal strain.

That’s what’s known, but it’s not the entire truth. May, a former

Newport Harbor High star volleyball player known for her fiery

competitiveness, is actually ready to play, ready for the 2004

Olympics.

“I’m in the best shape that I have ever been in since college,”

May said in a phone interview last week. “From last year to this

year, it’s night and day. I’m going to be healthy going into the

Olympics and I feel very confident.”

May, along with her partner, Kerri Walsh, will be one of the

favorites in women’s beach volleyball in the Olympics in Athens,

Greece next month. May and Walsh will be vying for gold, Aug. 14-25.

Before that happens, May will test her health this weekend in the

Hermosa Beach Open at the Hermosa Beach Pier. The action starts

Thursday with qualifying rounds from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The main draw

competition is on Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the women’s final is

at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, which will also be broadcast live on NBC.

May will also be making an appearance at Macy’s at South Coast

Plaza Thursday at 7 p.m., when there will be a fall preview fashion

show.

In the days leading up to the Olympics, May remains excited about

competing in Athens, she said.

“We want to win the gold medal,” May said. “When I get there, I

want to hunt down my cousin [Taylor Dent] and walk in with him during

the opening ceremony.”

May and Dent are first cousins. Dent, who stood out in his only

year at Corona del Mar High in 1996, is on the U.S. Olympic men’s

tennis team.

“We were the youngest cousins, out of all my cousins,” May said.

“We always tagged along with each other.”

At a young age, May was groomed for competition. Her father,

Robert “Butch” May, was on the 1968 U.S. volleyball team that placed

seventh at the Mexico City Games. May’s mother, the late Barbara May,

also played volleyball and she competed in tennis at UCLA.

At one time, Misty May had a baby-sitter, three-time gold medalist

Karch Kiraly, who will also be in the Hermosa Beach Open.

So it was of little surprise May earned so much success at Newport

Harbor, and later at Long Beach State, where she earned National

Player of the Year honors. She also led the Sailors to two state

volleyball titles.

“She was always one step ahead of everyone else,” said Dan Glenn,

the Newport Harbor High girls volleyball coach. “Her parents had such

a great influence on her. She plays the game by feel. She has the

ability to see what’s going to happen before it happens.”

May also competed in the 2000 Olympics with Holly McPeak. They

finished fifth. May battled with an abdominal strain at the time and

after the Olympics in Sydney she underwent reconstructive knee

surgery.

But she has been fierce on the comeback trail ever since, piling

up wins with Walsh.

“It’s completely different,” May said of her health and mindset

going into next month’s Olympics. “The Olympics can be a bit

overwhelming, but now I know what to expect.”

While preparing for the Olympics has been exciting, May has had

other facets resulting in happiness. She has found love. While

rehabilitating her knee three years ago, she met Matt Treanor, who is

now a catcher for the Florida Marlins.

“We’re getting married in November,” May said. “He proposed to me

March 31.”

May said Treanor asked her father for his daughter’s hand in

marriage while sitting for dinner. She said they will wed in Orange

and have their reception in Costa Mesa.

Also, after the Olympics, May said she will continue to be an

assistant at Irvine Valley College, where she works with Tom

Pestolesi, a former Newport Harbor assistant coach and teacher.

May said the fundamentals, along with the importance of work

ethic, she learned at Newport Harbor remains important in her career.

She passes that on to the players, Pestolesi said. Yet, just as in

high school, she also likes to have fun.

That was evident when millions saw May and Walsh in a commercial

that aired during the Super Bowl earlier this year. May and Walsh

played volleyball in the snow, while wearing bikinis.

May said she enjoyed making the commercial, and it only

strengthened the team bond she shares with Walsh.

“We just find ways to win,” May said. “We work well together and

we hate losing.”