Karch Kiraly is one of 25 members selected for the first So Cal Hall of Fame class to be inducted later this year. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America)
The 25-member inaugural class of the newly formed Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame (SCIVBHOF) features seven members and the head coach from the 1988 USA Men’s Olympic Games Gold Medal Team. The first group of inductees also includes eight players and coaches with ties to UCLA’s legendary history and five USC Olympic Medalists. The 25 inductees in alphabetical order:
- Andy Banachowski
- Laurel Brassey-Iversen
- Craig Buck
- Deitre Collins-Parker
- Tara Cross-Battle
- Bob Ctvrtlik
- Marv Dunphy
- Dusty Dvorak
- Rolf Engen
- Debbie Green
- Kathy Gregory
- Bryan Ivie
- Karch Kiracly
- Ricci Luyties
- Chris Marlowe
- Misty May-Treanor
- Kim Oden
- Mike O’Hara
- Doug Partie
- Al Scates
- Gene Selznick
- Sinjin Smith
- Jeff Stork
- Steve Timmons
- Paula Weishoff
Andy Banachowski, Laurel Brassey Iversen, Deitre Collins-Parker, Tara Cross-Battle, Debbie Green, Kathy Gregory, Karch Kiraly, Ricci Luyties, Misty May-Treanor, Kim Oden, Jeff Stork and Paula Weishoff are all tied to prep volleyball in So Cal.
- Banachowski: Coached UCLA women’s volleyball for 45 years and his daughter Amy played club volleyball in Southern California before attending UC San Diego and then transferring to UCLA as part of the 1991 NCAA title team.
- Brassey Iversen: Played at San Diego State on the first NCAA team in 1981 that reached the Volley Four and then was the long-time coach at New Mexico around playing on the 1988 USA Olympic Team.
- Collins-Parker: Played on two NCAAA title teams at Hawaii and the USA 1988 Olympic Team before going into coaching. Currently is the head women’s coach at San Diego State.
- Cross-Battle: The four-time USA Olympian led Long Beach State to its first NCAA title after winning two state titles and currently is a girls’ club coach in Texas.
- Green: Won two college titles at USC; then set USA to silver medal in 1984 Olympics, then helped coach Long Beach State to three NCAA titles; involved in club volleyball for many years through her two daughters and now is Asst. Coach at Long Beach City College.
- Gregory: USA international player and great beach star, who was the long-time women’s head coach at UC Santa Barbara.
- Kiraly: Was the USA Women’s National Team Assistant Coach for the 2012 silver medal winning team and head coach for the 2016 bronze medal winning USA women’s team. Will be USA women’s head coach for 2020 Tokyo.
- Luyties: Current head women’s volleyball coach at UC San Diego and his daughter played club and is now a beach player at Hawaii.
- May-Treanor: After NCAA title career at Long Beach State and three beach Olympic Gold Medals was involved in club coaching in Southern California and is now the head women’s coach at Long Beach City College.
- Oden: After a great career at Stanford through club in Orange County, was captain for two USA women’s Olympic Teams and then was assistant women’s volleyball for many colleges across the USA and then a high school top coach. Now is senior academic counselor at Campbell Hall Prep.
- Stork: After playing three Olympic Games and setting USA to Olympic Gold in 1988, went into coaching and is currently the long-time head women’s volleyball head coach at Cal State Northridge. His daughter played club and college beach.
- Weishoff: Played for USA in three Olympic Games after leading USC to college title; then women’s coaching, assistant for two USC title teams, plus head coach currently at Concordia Irvine after being head women’s coach at UC Irvine.
Of all 25 members, outside hitters Karch Kiraly and Bob Ctvrtlik, opposite hitter Steve Timmons, middle blockers Craig Buck and Doug Partie, setters Jeff Stork and Ricci Luyties and head coach Marv Dunphy were part of the 1988 Seoul Olympics Gold Medal group and will enter the SCIVBHOF together.
Inductees Kiraly, Partie, Luyties, 50-season UCLA head men’s head coach Al Scates, 45-season Bruins women’s head coach Andy Banachowski, 1950s-60s players Mike O’Hara and Rolf Engen and 1979 NCAA MVP Sinjin Smith all attended UCLA and were part of 29 national championships.
Besides Timmons from USC’s 1980 NCAA title team, the Trojans are represented by 1984 USA Olympic Games Gold Medal winning starting setter and NCAA MVP Dusty Dvorak, two-time NCAA champion and MVP Bryan Ivie and women’s AIAW champions and Olympic medalists Debbie Green and Paula Weishoff.
Dunphy, who coached Pepperdine to four NCAA titles, joins Wave alumni and Olympic Gold Medalists in Ctvrtlik, Buck and Stork. San Diego State has three HOF members in current Aztecs women’s head coach Deitre Collins-Parker (2-time NCAA MVP and two-time champion at Hawaii), 1984 Olympic Team captain and Gold Medalist Chris Marlowe and former Aztecs men’s and women’s player and former Olympian Laurel Brassey-Iversen.
Long Beach State is represented by four-time USA Olympian and 1989 NCAA champion and MVP Tara Cross-Battle, 1998 NCAA champion and MVP and Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May-Treanor and Green, who was an assistant coach for 23 years for the 49ers including NCAA titles in 1989, 1993 and 1998.
The remainder of the induction class includes two-time Olympic captain and three-time Stanford All-American middle blocker Kim Oden; long-time UC Santa Barbara women’s head coach and great player in the 1960s-70s, Kathy Gregory; and the first USA player to ever make the All-World Team, Gene Selznick. Selznick, the USA international captain from 1953-1967, passed away in 2012.
“The committee has done a tremendous job in narrowing the over 100 deserving Southern California nominees to an opening class of 25 indoor players and coaches,” said Mike Gallups, the President of American Sports Centers, where the Hall of Fame will be housed later this year. “We are excited that the 25 selections cover the major eras of volleyball and look forward to honoring additional outstanding athletes and coaches with ties to Southern California in years to come.”
Among the 25 inductees there are over 100 combined Olympic medals, NCAA, AIAW & USVBA Titles and numerous United States Volleyball Association (USAV) honors from the 1950s into the 2000s.
Elissa Sato, who had a long career as a VB scorekeeper and is the mother of the Sato volleyball family, was selected for the first SCIVB Lifetime Service Award.
The Hall of Fame will be housed at the American Sports Centers (ASC) in Anaheim where the USA Men’s and Women’s National Teams train. The induction ceremony is Sunday night, May 7 and a permanent exhibit will be housed at ASC.
