Misty, Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life by JOSEPH RONSER

MLA Citation

ronsejos000 — 2024-02-16 20:58:17 UTC

May-Treanor, Misty, and Jill Lieber Steeg. Misty: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life. Scribner, 2011.

1. Birth of Misty

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Misty was born on July 30th, 1977

"I was born at Kaiser Permanante Medical Center in Los Angeles, on July 30, 1977, and, as luck would have it, Dad missed my grand entrance" (31).

2. Misty spent most of her childhood on Muscle Beach watching beach volleyball

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when she was there she would do her homework, play with friends, and watch legends like Eileen Clancy McClintock, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Walton, Kathy Gregory, etc.

3. Misty began to idolize Karch Kiraly

ronsejos000 — 2024-02-16 21:29:28 UTC

Karch Kiraly is a very famous Volleyball player who was the first person to win an Olympic medal in both indoor and beach volleyball.

4. Misty was a dancer for 6 years before volleyball

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Misty did tap, ballet, jazz, as well as baton twirling at the Santa Monica Dance Studio in California.

"When I was five, Mom enrolled me in dance classes at the Santa Monica Dance Studio. Over the next six years, I participated in tap, ballet, jazz, and even baton twirling" (39).

5. Misty's first organized sport was actually not volleyball, but soccer.

ronsejos000 — 2024-02-28 02:25:34 UTC

Misty was actually very talented at soccer receiving multiple Division l offers from big schools like North Carolina. And with her time on the American Youth Soccer Organization's branch in Santa Monica, Misty was very competitive and scored numerous goals, showcasing her talents.

6. Misty became a beach volleyball player at the age of 8

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her first outing as a beach volleyball player was a mixed doubles tournament. she played with her dad at Will Rodgers State Beach and ended up finishing 5th in the tournament.

7. Misty battled through childhood dealing with her parents alcoholism

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Both of Misty's parents got swept up in alcohol when the played beach volleyball that affected Misty's childhood negatively.

"I became aware of their issues, when I was four, until they'd both sobered up, by the time I was fifteen. It's the reason I'm so quiet. It's the reason I don't express my feelings well. It's the reason I can't talk to about whats really going on inside me" (56)

8. Misty moved from Muscle Beach area to Orange county in 8th grade

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When she moved here she had a hard time fitting in. since the Orange county area was predominantly white and wealthy, people at her school considered her an outsider and left her out from things. she made most of her friends through sports at her school.

9. Misty committed to Long Beach State to play volleyball

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Misty was one of the top recruits in her class and received over three hundred recruiting letters. she narrowed down to Stanford, Hawaii, Arizona, University of the Pacific, and Long Beach State.

"And so, in August, before my junior year at Newport Harbor, I phoned Brian Gimmillaro, Long Beach State's head women's volley ball coach, and verbally committed to being a part of his program" (93).

10. While in college, Misty was sexually assaulted

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in August of 1997, she was out partying with her friends and that's when it happens. she went to trial and had to testify and the suspect was charged. she said she was embarrassed and confused but she never had to go through any counseling and said she was strong enough to push through it.

"In August 1997, I was faced with a personal crisis: I was sexually assaulted. It was very painful time in my life. Until now, I've never spoken about it publicly" (102).

11. Misty and the Long Beach State Volleyball team won the 1998 NCAA Championship

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That year Misty won lots of awards like AVCA Division I player of the Year back-to-back. As well as setting the NCAA tournament record for service aces with 20. And on top of that, Long Beach State was the first women's volleyball team to go undefeated all season with a record of 36-0. This team is arguably the greatest women's volleyball team of all time

"I was named the co-MVP of the Final Four with nine kills, seventy assists, and four blocked shots in the title game" (111)

12. Misty's Mom was diagnosed with cancer

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In January of 2000, Misty and Holly McPeak were training Beach volleyball in hopes of making the Olympics in Sydney. When one day in January Misty's Mom called her and said she had cancer. Her parents kept her away from all the chemotherapy and doctors appointments because they wanted her to focus on going to the Olympics and hopefully winning a gold medal.

"Then in January 2000, I got a phone call I wasn't prepared for. 'I have cancer,' Mom said" (127).

13. Misty and Holly clinched the Olympics in Sydney as a #4 seed however losing three games in

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Misty and Holly traveled all across the world to cut the gap between them and the second spot for a U.S Beach volleyball team to go to Sydney. They ended up taking the second spot however, Misty tore her abdominal muscle in a game in Chicago. This injury would take a toll on their quest as in the Olympic games they only played three before being heartbroken by Brazil's Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel.

14. Misty met her long-time beach volleyball partner, Kerri Walsh

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Kerri Walsh originally played indoor volleyball and not beach. however, Misty's parents convinced Kerri's parents and Kerri to give it a shot. Eventually Kerri agreed to play with Misty. Kerri played for Stanford, won two national championships, four-year first team All-American, and actually beat Misty in the Final Four to advance to the national championship in 1997.

"Picking Kerri as a partner for me was a stroke of genius on my parents' part" (144).

15. Misty's Mom passed away and her grieving sent her in a downward spiral

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Misty was sent into a depression after her mom passed. She wanted to quit volleyball as well as contemplating being a coach for a college. To help with her coping she got a tattoo of her mom's initials with angels wings and a halo.

16. Misty found the love of her life, Matt Treanor, and got married

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They first met in 2003, at the Sports Medicine Institute when she was getting physical therapy before the 2004 Olympics. Matt was a catcher who played in the MLB.

"We were married on November 13, 2004, at noon, at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, California" (197).

17. Misty and Kerri won the Gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens

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Misty and Kerri were the First U.S. women's team to win a gold medal in beach volleyball.

"Kerri fell to her knees, and I ran to embrace her. We both fell backward in the sand I'd tackled the hell out of her, and I didn't care if I'd broken both of her knees in the celebration" (219).

18. After Misty's win in Athens, she wanted to try a new sport out, which was Auto Racing

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In April of 2005, Misty participated in a pro and celebrity race in the 30th Grand Prix in Long Beach. She claimed that it was much tougher mentally and also physically demanding compared to volleyball. With her efforts she finished fifth overall in the race and was the highest placing woman in the race.

19. Misty and Kerri won gold again in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

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The day they had the match the weather was not ideal, it was pouring rain but they played on anyways. It was a close game 20-18 and on an error by China's team Misty set the ball up to Kerri and she laid the hammer, spiking the ball to seal there back-to-back gold medals.

20. Misty was a dancer on the ABC's TV show Dancing with the Stars

ronsejos000 — 2024-03-29 03:47:03 UTC

Misty always loved to dance and she danced when she was younger. So when she go the chance she jumped on it right after her win in Beijing.