Beach volleyball: May, McPeak fall in quarterfinals

As memorable a day as Friday was for local athletes in the Sydney

Olympics, Saturday, was not as special.

Newport Harbor High grad Misty May, along with her playing partner

Holly McPeak were upset in the quarterfinals of the beach volleyball

competition, 16-14, before a stunned sellout crowd at Bondi Beach.

In fact the other U.S. team, Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis

were also ousted, 15-9, eliminating both American teams.

May and McPeak were defeated by Brazil’s Adriana Samuel and Sandra

Pires, both of whom won medals with different partners at the Atlanta

Olympics in 1996.

The lead changed hands four times before Samuel and Pires led, 11-10.

Four different times, May and McPeak evened the score, only to have

the Brazilians regain a one-point lead, thanks to the strong net play by

Pires.

Finally, after three match points, Pires slammed in a winner, sending

both May and McPeak to their knees in disbelief.

It was a roller-coaster year for May. She, along with McPeak,

qualified for the Olympics by accumulating enough points through

world-wide tournaments.

“It’s like beating Michael Johnson in the 400-meters and giving him a

200-meter head start,” Misty’s father, Butch May said in a recent

interview. What Misty and Holly did in 10 events, it took the other

teams 25-30 events.”

May and McPeak made the Olympics following a semifinals win over Zi

Xiong and Rong Chi of China, 17-16, at the China Open in August.

Unfortunately for May, a pulled stomach muscle has hampered her

jumping, running and serving, but for an opportunity to play in the

Olympics, she toughened it out.

Jordan and Davis were eliminated by Japan’s Yukiko Takahashi and Teru

Saiki.