4 to join beach volleyball legends

3 stars and an announcer will be inducted Saturday as Class of 2023 at Hermosa Beach Museum

The California Beach Volleyball Association will induct four new members into its Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame on Saturday — during its first induction ceremony since 2019.

Beach volleyball stars Jake Gibb, Nicole Branagh, Stein Metzger and former Association of Volleyball Professionals announcer Sam Lagana will be inducted as the Class of 2023 at the Hermosa Beach Museum, 710 Pier Ave. The event will include a social hour at 5 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session at 6 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 7 p.m.

Hall of famer Misty May-Treanor, who won more than 100 tournaments, as well as three Olympic gold medals and World Championships, also will be honored during the ceremony.

Kevin Cleary, an inductee in 2010 and CBVA Committee member, said in an email that MayTreanor will be a “special honoree” because she “was inducted into the Hall of Fame years ago but was not able to make the event, so she was never honored.”

Cleary said he predicts a “great event.” “We're honoring four Olympians with nine appearances between them,” Cleary said in an email.

Gibb, who retired in 2021 following 21 seasons, won three Manhattan Beach Opens — known as the “granddaddy” of beach volleyball tournaments — was in the Olympics four times and won more than 40 tournaments with his partners, according to a biography from the CBVA.

Branagh, who was the AVP's MVP in 2009, finished fifth at the 2008 Summer Olympics with