Holly McPeak (born May 15, 1969) is an American retired indoor and beach volleyball player. McPeak was three-times an Olympian in beach volleyball. In the professional circuit, she garnered 72 career beach volleyball titles, with career earnings of US$1.4 million. She is ranked third in titles won (behind Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh) and second in career earnings (behind May-Treanor) for female professional beach volleyball players. She won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics with partner Elaine Youngs. Though McPeak was considered short for a beach volleyball player at 5 feet 7 inches in height, she was one of the toughest players to beat on the tour.

Early life and college career

McPeak was born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California. She attended Mira Costa High School. While there she was a member of two CIF 5-A champion volleyball teams. During her junior year in the fall of 1985 the Mustangs went undefeated en route to winning the state championship, finishing the season with a record of 29–0. In 1986 Mira Costa again went undefeated through the regular season and reached the championship match before losing in the finals to the Hueneme High School Vikings. The team finished with a 23–1 mark. Mira Costa head coach Dae Lea Aldrich, who had led the Mustangs to three state championships, two No. 1 national rankings, eight CIF titles and two state finals over a ten-year period, offered the following on McPeak: "She's a workaholic. She's a great athlete who will do anything you ask, and she'll do it twice as hard. She's the girl that does the extra mile and the extra lifting in the off season." Among McPeak's top choices were scholarship offers from the UCLA Bruins and the Golden Bears of the University of California, Berkeley.

McPeak chose to attend college at UC Berkeley for its academic excellence. At Cal, McPeak was named Pacific 10 Conference freshman of the year in 1987. At the conclusion of McPeak's freshman year Cal head coach Marlene Piper moved to teach and coach at UC Davis, and was replaced by Dave DeGroot.

Career in beach volleyball

McPeak grew up at Marine street, and followed local beach doubles teams such as Jim Menges and Matt Gage, Mike Dodd and Tim Hovland, and later players like Karch Kiraly and Sinjin Smith. After graduating high school in 1987, McPeak made her pro beach volleyball debut at the age of 18, partnering with Jill Horning at the WPVA "Miller Lite Open" in Santa Monica. Horning had been a year ahead of McPeak at Mira Costa High. The team scored a ninth-place finish, an accomplishment the young rookies repeated later that summer in the pair's second professional tournament. Following McPeak's freshman year at Cal she and Horning partnered again for two more pro beach volleyball tournaments, again finishing ninth each time. Fontana and Hanley had defeated McPeak and Reno in face-to-face competition in this double-elimination tournament, thus eliminating McPeak and Reno and sending them to fifth place.

McPeak returned for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, teaming with Misty May in May's first Olympic competition. The pair won through the first two rounds, but then lost 16–14 in a hard-fought quarter-final match against Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel of Brazil. The team finished tied for fifth place.

In 2002 the AVP shortened the court dimensions from 30 feet by 60 feet to 8 meters by 16 meters (26 feet 3 inches by 52 feet 6 inches). The rule change decreased the area a player had to defend, making player height a more essential element of a player's success. Shorter players like McPeak were placed at a disadvantage. The change followed the FIVB change from the year before. Said McPeak, "I liked the big courts better - with ball control we could make the big girls run."

During the 2005 season, McPeak teamed up with Jennifer Kessy and with Nicole Branagh for the 2006 season. After Branagh left to partner with Elaine Youngs, McPeak partnered with indoor volleyball player Logan Tom for the 2007 AVP season. She then partnered with Angie Akers.

McPeak initially retired after the 2008 AVP season, but decided to come out of retirement when asked by Kerri Walsh to team with her after Misty May-Treanor suffered a tendon injury. McPeak played her final match with partner Kerri Walsh, retiring for good on May 6, 2009, one week shy of her 40th birthday. She had a long career, scoring at least one career victory in every year she played from 1993 to 2004, with the exception of 1998 when there was no women's domestic tour.

In 2014, McPeak served as a sand volleyball game analyst for Pac-12 Network.

Personal life

McPeak is married to former AVP commissioner Leonard Armato and they have 3 sons. She has a twin brother (Gary) and a sister (Katie).

References

  • Holly McPeak at the Association of Volleyball Professionals (archived)