Simply put, Misty May Treanor is the best female beach volleyball player of all time.

And let's just call her Misty, as that’s the name that generations of players idolized ... grew up teaming with or losing to ... and watched atop AVP and Olympic podiums.

Misty was born into the sport.

Butch, her Olympian father, and her athletic mom, Barbara, brought young Misty to Muscle Beach in Santa Monica regularly, where lessons were learned early. And by the age of 8 she was playing in tourneys with her dad. Gene Selznick peppered with her when they'd venture up to State Beach, and a teenage Karch Kiraly was her babysitter ... and as the twig was bent, so grew the tree...a supremely talented tree.

At Newport Harbor, she won indoor CIF championships in '92 and '93, while earning MVPs, state player of the year honors, and being named America's best high school athlete. At Long Beach State from '95-99, NCAA titles undefeated seasons and more player of the year selections propelled her to certain national team selection.

But it was on the beach that her all around skills would blaze to worldwide brilliance.

A phone call from Holly McPeak, America's best at the time, assured Misty that finding a powerful partner in 1999 would not be a problem, and they sailed to AVP and international victories. An abdominal muscle tear rendered them 5th in the Sidney Olympics, but soon a historic partnering with Kerri Walsh would rewrite volleyball history ... and yield gold medals ... in 2004 in Athens ... in Beijing in 2008, beating the Chinese on their home court ... and in London in 2012. World beach titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and AVP dominance featured a run of 19 consecutive tourney wins, and 112 straight matches in 07-08, leaving no doubt about the world's best beach team ever.

Misty's commitment to volleyball started young, and it has endured throughout her competitive life of high-profile wins, battles back from injury, and as a standout ambassador for this very American, very Southern Californian, sport. As it has grown, she cherishes the richness of past partnerships, travel adventures and an unmatched legacy of pride. She lived the dream with graceful tenacity ... a model to her three daughters and thousands of players around the world.

She is certainly our Beach Hall of Fame's brightest light.

As Kerri proclaimed after their first Olympic gold, "Misty is the best player in the world."

 

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