International Volleyball Hall inductions: Beach legend Tim Hovland

The induction ceremony is Saturday night! Watch live: https://www.youtube.com/@ivhfofficial

This is one in a series previewing the inductees going into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on Saturday. 
This year there are nine inductees, two indoor players in Italian Andrea Zorzi and Cuba’s Regla Bell; two beach players in American Tim Hovland and Brazilian Ana Paula Henkel; Brazilian coach Jose “Ze” Roberto and ParaVolley coach Hadi Rezaei of Iran; two officials in Argentinian Juan Angel Pereyra and American Sue Lemaire; and Italian Giuseppe Panini, who is going in as a leader.
There are also three special honoree categories recognized this year: John Kessel is receiving the Mintonette Medallion of Merit Award; Bill Kauffman and Ed Chan are being honored posthumously with the inaugural Award for Media Excellence; and Michael Kane, Mike Knapik, Aaron Vega and Don Humason are receiving the Mayoral Award of Excellence.

You would hear his cackle before you saw the familiar swagger. The big voice penetrating the laid-back calm of a summer Southern California beach day. And then, like the Pied Piper of the South Bay that he was, Tim Hovland would emerge from the surrounding shroud of the Marine layer fog, with his homies in tow, wearing the Burmy’s neon tank top (which would get torn asunder by the end of any tournament), the Oakley shades and the upturned Power hat that said simply, “The Hov.”

“I can think of only two people in the history of beach or indoor volleyball that earned an article before their name,” said the legendary Karch Kiraly. “There was no ‘The Stokie’ or ‘The Dodd’. But there was ‘The Hov.’” That is when you know you do very special things when you have the ‘The’ before your name.”

“The two things I admire most of Tim, are that he always tells the truth, and has never been a hypocrite,” said longtime partner and fellow legend Mike Dodd. “What you see is what you get, good or bad, with no apologies. I think that’s why he is so beloved by the fans.”

Now, “The Hov” is an International Volleyball Hall of Famer, being inducted into the Class of 2024, as a “Beach Player.”

But, as you will see below, that sobriquet only scratches the surface of his impact on the game, both the hardwood and sand varieties, and by dint of his “unique” persona.

“I am very overwhelmed (with the honor),” Hovland commented. “I put a lot of…