Misty May Treanor

Like most Americans, Dan Glenn had a rooting interest on both sides of the net Wednesday. The Newport Harbor High girls' volleyball coach entering his 27th season said watching the live afternoon feed of the women's beach volleyball gold-medal match from the Olympics in London, in which former Sailors Misty May-Treanor and April Ross and their respective partners did battle, was a win-win situation. "[Tuesday's semifinals] was the big day," Glenn said of May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings defeating the No. 2-seeded Chinese duo, while Ross and Jennifer Kessy rallied to beat the top-seeded Brazilian tandem to set up the All-American final.

Misty May-Treanor, the former Newport Harbor High standout who grew up in Costa Mesa, along with Kerri Walsh Jennings opened the first round of single elimination with a resounding 21-13, 21-12 victory in 30 minutes against Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer of Netherlands in women's beach volleyball at the London Olympics. May-Treanor and Walsh, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalists and the No. 3 seeds, advanced to the quarterfinals and remained undefeated at 4-0. They will play Italy's No. 7 Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti in the quarterfinals Sunday at 11 a.m. PST. April Ross, also a former Newport Harbor standout who grew up in Costa Mesa, and Jennifer Kessy, seeded No. 4, will face No. 10 Marketa Slukova and Kristyna Kolocova of Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. May-Treanor led with 16 kills, while Walsh Jennings had four blocks.

It seemed inevitable their paths would cross in a meaningful way. After all Misty May-Treanor and April Ross went to the same high school, Newport Harbor, though they graduated at different times. They grew up in the same town, played at the same gyms and learned the sand game on the same beaches. Of course they have a connection. Five years ago, so the story goes, Ross was about to form a team with Jennifer Kessy. The new duo played in a secluded practice match against the best: Misty and her partner Kerri Walsh.

Concordia University's Master of Coaching and Athletic Administration (MCAA) department will host the California Coaches Conference this week, a five-day conference Monday through Friday focusing on "developing excellence in coaching and athletics. " Most of the conference will take place at Concordia, but some of it will be at Irvine Valley College, where the color gold will be prevalent. That's because IVC director of volleyball Tom Pestolesi will have two very gold-minded guest speakers for his course titled "Advanced theory and strategy for coaching volleyball.

Newport Habor High product Misty May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh were defeated in the final of the Moscow event of the Federacion International de Volleyball World Tour of beach volleyball at Moscow Victory Park on Monday. The two-time Olympic gold medalists, who won this event last year, lost to top-seeded Chen Xue and Zi Zhang of China, 21-14, 21-14, in the 34-minute title match. It was the third crown this season for Xue and Zhang, who have won 12 FIVB championships overall.

April Ross, a 2012 Olympian and former Newport Harbor star volleyball player, will appear with beach volleyball teammate Jennifer Kessy at Macy's South Coast Plaza Saturday 2 p.m. The Olympians will provide autographs and pose with fans for photos. Ralph Lauren Team USA polo shirts will be available for purchase. Ross and Kessy can sign one shirt per customer. Ross and Kessy qualified for the London Olympics earlier this month when the duo clinched the second of two American women's berths after finishing fifth in the Beijing Grand Slam event.

Misty May-Treanor, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a former Newport Harbor High star, will be the special guest speaker at the 51st annual Athletic Awards Breakfast Thursday at 7:15 a.m. at Balboa Pavilion. The awards breakfast honors the top 15 athletes from Corona del Mar High and Newport Harbor. May-Treanor is no stranger to accolades. May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the gold medal at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in beach volleyball. The duo will be in the London Olympics going for an unprecedented third straight gold medal.

In 2002, Misty May-Treanor hit the lowest point in her career. In a career filled with so many highs, there have been very few lows. When she was 24, she was down there. It didn't have so much to do with an injury or a missed opportunity. May-Treanor said her mother's death caused her great pain and challenged her love for volleyball, she revealed in an exclusive interview with the Daily Pilot Thursday afternoon. She was in Huntington Beach to promote a contest with Arnold/Brownberry/Oroweat bread.

Misty May-Treanor, a former Newport Harbor High standout, and Kerri Walsh won women's gold medal at the FIVB Swatch Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Austria Saturday. May-Treanor and Walsh, seeded fourth, beat No. 2- seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China, 21-14, 26-24, before a vocal crowd of over 8,000. It was the 11th time in FIVB history that the China and the United States have met for the women's gold medal. The U.S. leads, 9-2. That's the same record May-Treanor and Walsh have over Xue and Chang.

Former Newport Harbor High volleyball standout April Ross finally topped another former star with the Sailors, Misty May-Treanor, in international action. Ross and Jennifer Kessy upset May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the two-time Olympic champions, 21-16, 21-19, in the quarterfinals of the FIVB Stare Jablonki Grand Slam in Poland on Friday. The victory gives Ross and Kessy their first in international play against May-Treanor and Walsh, who are in their first season together since 2008.