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
