May-Treanor receives three individual awards

LOS ANGELES — There was no dearth of awards Thursday night for Misty May-Treanor, who was honored at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals awards banquet at the Beverly Hilton.

May-Treanor, a Newport Harbor High graduate, captured honors for Most Valuable Player, Best Offensive Player, and Best Defensive Player.

She and teammate Kerri Walsh were also named Team of the Year after winning 13 of the 15 regular season AVP events they entered this year. May-Treanor and Walsh finished with a 76-3 match record, and lost 14 games all season. May-Treanor also broke former teammate Holly McPeak’s record of 72 career wins to become the winningest female AVP player of all time when she won a title at Hermosa Beach.

It was the fifth straight Team of the Year honor for May-Treanor and Walsh, and May-Treanor was named Best Offensive Player for the fourth straight year.

Thursday’s MVP award was her third in a row, and she was named Best Defensive Player for the second year in a row.

Last year, she became the first player, man or woman, to capture honors for best offensive and defensive player.

April Ross, who also graduated from Newport Harbor, was named Most Improved Player of the Year. As a rookie, Ross’ best finish was ninth, but this year, she and new partner Jennifer Boss advanced to the tournament semifinals six times and had two second-place finishes.

Ross and Boss also won a Fédération Internationale de Volleyball title in June at the FIVB Grand Slam in Stavanger, Norway.

Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won Team of the Year, and Dalhausser was named Most Valuable Player, and Best Offensive Player. Rogers shared Best Defensive Player honors with Sean Rosenthal.

— From staff reports