Men's volleyball has had its share of Olympic success

Think Long Beach State Olympic volleyball players and Misty May-Treanor immediately comes to mind. It’s not unusual.

 May-Treanor, who led Long Beach State to the national championship in 1998, won three Olympic gold medals in women’s beach volleyball and was considered, along with partner Kerri Walsh, the greatest beach volleyball team of all time. May-Treanor put Long Beach State women’s volleyball on the global map.

Men’s volleyball at Long Beach State, meanwhile, toiled largely in the shadows in those days. The program’s first Olympic player was Bob Ctvrlik, who gained more accolades and Olympic glory as a former Pepperdine University player than someone with Long Beach roots.

Ctvrlik played only one season at Long Beach before transferring to Pepperdine in 1984, and after leading the Waves to the national title in 1985, Crvrlik helped the U.S National Team win gold at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He also was a member of the bronze-medal team at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The 1992 National Team roster, though, had Brent Hillard, who sported the Beach jersey for all four years. Hillard, a four-time All American, was the 1992 AVCA Player of the Year.

Long Beach State players dotted U.S. men’s volleyball rosters for the next three Summer Games, but in 2012, not only did the Americans have three Olympians from Long Beach State, but the coach was Alan Knipe, the current Beach coach.

“It was a wonderful experience being part of the Olympics,” Knipe said. “Just being a part of the team in general.”

Although the team lost in the quarterfinals and did not medal, Knipe said walking into the Opening Ceremonies is an experience he never will forget.

“The emotions are pure and strong,” he said.

The players on the Knipe-coached team were David McKienzie, a three-time All-American, Paul Lotman, the 2008 National Player of the Year, and David Lee, a first-team All-American. Lee, a member of the gold-medal team in 2008, would go on to qualify for his third U.S. Olympic team and win a bronze medal in 2016.