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Morgan Barker Mrs. Raymond English 1103 October 20, 2013

Dig for the Gold They won! They won their third gold medal! This is what I said as Misty May-Treanor and Keri-Walsh Jennings won their third consecutive gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. Every two years, when the Summer Olympics comes on, I always watch the indoor and beach volleyball events. Even though I play indoor volleyball, my favorite event to watch is beach volleyball. Misty May- Treanor is a professional beach volleyball player. Her artistic talent is playing this sport and dominating any opponent. Misty May- Treanor was born on July 30, 1977 in Los Angeles, California (Misty MayTreanor biography). She started playing beach volleyball at a very young age at the Santa Monica Pier. When she was eight years old, she played in her first beach volleyball tournament with her dad, Robert Butch May (Misty May-Treanor biography). From then on, her father pushed her to give it her all when she was on the court. Before high school, she also competed in a number of other sports, but volleyball was her favorite by far. She attended Newport Harbor High School and led her high school indoor volleyball team to two state championships in 1992 and 1994 (Wikipedia). After attending high school, Treanor then continued both her academic and her volleyball career at Long Beach State University. Along with majoring in kinesiology and physical education, Misty May-Treanor was

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captain of the indoor volleyball team- which, in 1998, became the first womens NCAA volleyball team to go undefeated (Misty May-Treanor biography). Throughout her college career, she received several awards and accolades including the 1998 Honda Broderick NCAA Athlete-of-the-Year Award, and being named NCAA First-Team-All-American in her 19961998 seasons (Misty May-Treanor). Treanor graduated in 2002, and in 2004, she was inducted into the Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame (Wikipedia). Misty May-Treanors Olympic career started in 2000 when she partnered with Holly McPeak and played 11 events on the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) Tour, winning seven gold medals and three titles. May-Treanor led her team to their first international win in Chicago; this gave them enough points to qualify for the Sydney Olympics where they placed fifth (Misty May-Treanor). The following year, Treanor paired up with a new partner, Keri Walsh-Jennings. Neither of them knew that their partnership would become the best beach volleyball team there ever was. In 2002, they were named the FIVB Tour Champions and named Team of the Year in 2003 (Misty May-Treanor biography). In 2004, Misty May-Treanor started her dig for the gold with Keri Walsh Jennings in the Athens Olympics where they eventually won their first Olympic gold medal over Brazil (Misty May-Treanor). Toward the end of 2004, Misty May married the MLB catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Treanor (Wikipedia). Misty and Keri continued their undefeated streak by winning a total of 112 consecutive matches and 19 straight tournaments (Misty May-Treanor). In 2008, the dynamic duo swept all seven opponents at the Olympics in Beijing, China. They acquired their second consecutive gold medal after defeating the team from China in the finals (Misty May-Treanor). At the end of 2008 Olympics, Treanor was named Most

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Outstanding Player of the tournament; finishing third among the hitters and diggers with 107 kills and 43 digs in seven matches (Misty May-Treanor: USA volleyball). Unfortunately, in 2009, Misty suffered a torn Achilles tendon while she was practicing for Dancing with the Stars, causing her to miss her entire season. When she returned, Treanor and Walsh competed in the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) against Brazil and took second (Misty MayTreanor). In 2011, Misty and Keri reunited for the first time internationally since Beijing in 2008 at the FIVB season opener where they won a silver medal (Misty May-Treanor biography). Spending all of their time training, Misty and Kari prepared well for the 2012 Olympics in London, England. There they won their third consecutive gold medal in the finals against their fellow U.S. team, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross. This dominating duo was the only beach volleyball team to win three Olympic gold medals (Misty May-Treanor USA Volleyball). At the end of the 2012 Olympic games, Misty May-Treanor announced that she was retiring from her professional volleyball career. Even though Misty is retired, she still is very much a part of the beach volleyball program. She recently joined the sand volleyball staff at the University of Southern California. Misty has great work ethic both on and off the court. She will bring that same ethic to the team which will enable our student-athletes to see the kind of hard work it takes to become a top sand volleyball player, said Anna Collier, the coach of the USC sand volleyball team. Misty has been an inspiration to many, including myself. Mistys artistic talent is reading the hitters and always being in the right spot to make the dig. She will forever be remembered for being a threetime Olympic gold medal champion.

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Works Cited Misty May-Treanor. Biography. Bio.True Story, 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Misty May- Treanor Joins USC Sand Volleyball Staff. Southern California, 3 Sep. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Misty May-Treanor: United States. Beach Volleyball Database, 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Misty May-Treanor: USA Volleyball. Team USA, Aug. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Misty May-Treanor. Wikipedia, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.