Misty wins gold again

GSTAAD, Switzerland — Now that they’ve won their third straight Fédération Internationale de Volleyball world title, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh need to take just four more steps to eviscerate one more statistic.

May-Treanor and Walsh, respectively, became the top two winningest women on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour earlier this year. And, if they win four more FIVB events, they will surpass Brazilians Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede as the world’s winningest women’s volleyball team.

May-Treanor and Walsh are already giants on the women’s beach volleyball circuit, and it seems there’s not too many other honors left for May-Treanor and Walsh, who have been partners for six years, to rack up.

May-Treanor and Walsh became the first team, male or female, to win three straight championships since the FIVB’s 1997 inception, and the reigning Olympic champions are the women’s frontrunners for qualifying to play in the Beijing Olympics next year.

They also won FIVB world titles in 2002 and 2003.

May-Treanor, who graduated from Newport Harbor High, and Walsh topped China’s Tian Jia and Wang Jie of China 21-10, 21-19 in Saturday’s final women’s match in the Swiss Alps for a $60,000 grand prize.

May-Treanor and Walsh have won 40 of 42 matches in Gstaad, and Saturday’s two wins increased winning streak on the village courts to 35-straight matches. They’ve won 12 straight matches in straight sets in domestic and international play.

The tandem is 34-1 in FIVB play this year, and they have won four gold and one bronze medal for $202,000 in prize money.

— From staff reports