May-Treanor, Gibb lauded by USA Volleyball

Newport Harbor High product Misty May-Treanor and Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb have been named USA Volleyball Female and Male Athlete of the Year, respectively, in beach volleyball.

May-Treanor, 35, and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings won their third straight Olympic gold medal in London last summer. The legendary duo lost only one set and swept to a 21-16, 21-16 final victory over April Ross and Jennifer Kessy.

May-Treanor led Olympic women’s players in digs with 107 on 225 attempts for a 48% success rate. She was second among all players with 125 points on 120 kills, one block and four aces.

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings also won one 2012 FIVB Grand Slam in Gstaad, Switzerland and finished second at the FIVB Grand Slam in Moscow.

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings finished the season ranked No. 11 on the FIVB World Tour and the FIVB named May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings its Most Inspirational Players in 2012.

May-Treanor retired from competition after the London Olympics.

Gibb, 36, paired with Corona del Mar resident Sean Rosenthal to finish 2012 as the FIVB World Tour champions. They also qualified for their second straight Olympic Games, finishing fifth in London.

Gibb and Rosenthal also won the AVP Pro Beach Tour event in Santa Barbara.

The duo won FIVB Grand Slam events in Rome and Gstaad and finished second in Berlin and third in Klagenfurt, Austria. They placed fourth in three other FIVB events in 2012.

Gibb was 19th among all male Olympians in London with 75 points on 62 kills, 12 blocks and one ace in five matches.

Domestically, Gibb also paired with Nick Lucena to win the NVL Best of the Beach tournament in Las Vegas.

Gibb said he plans to play alongside Casey Patterson in 2013 after six years with Rosenthal, who will be playing next season with Phil Dalhausser.

Gibb and Patterson plan to make their 2013 debut in the FIVB World Cup event in Brazil in January, although the site and date have yet to be confirmed.

— From staff reports