ANAHEIM, Calif. – Former San Diego State men's volleyball star and two-time Olympian John Hyden has been selected for induction into the fifth class of the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Joining Hyden as 2021 inductees are Tim Hovland, Bernie Holtzman, Tammy Leibl, Holly McPeak, Ryan Millar, Sharon Peterson, Reid Priddy, Fred Sturm, Sue Woodstra and Linda Murphy (Lifetime Service).
Hyden, who collected team MVP honors all four years in an Aztec uniform (1992-95), garnered first-team All-America accolades in his final two seasons on The Mesa when he led the nation in kills per set.
After college, Hyden was an outside hitter on the U.S. national team, competing in both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics following a busy 1995 schedule that saw him play in the World University Games, NORCECA Zone Championship and World Cup, where he helped the American squad to a fourth-place finish.
Additionally, Hyden had professional stints with indoor teams in Italy, Brazil and Saudi Arabia before making the transition to beach volleyball as a defender in 2001. He was inducted into the Aztec Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
A world-class player, Hyden has won 28 open events on the beach circuit, including 13 AVP tournaments, highlighted by titles at the coveted Manhattan Beach Open in 2011 and 2012. Since switching to beach competition, he was named AVP Best Defensive Player in 2009 and 2013 and received AVP Team of the Year recognition in 2015 with Tri Bourne.
On the international stage, Hyden teamed with Bourne to capture the gold medal at the 2014 Berlin Open, becoming the oldest player to win an FIVB Grand Slam event at age 41. He also holds the record for the oldest competitor ever to win an AVP tournament when took home the crown at Hermosa Beach with Theo Brunner in 2018.
A graduate of Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, Hyden is one of 10 Aztec players or coaches to be enshrined into the SCIVBHOF, joining Laurel Brassey Iversen, Deitre Collins-Parker, Chris Marlowe, Duncan McFarland, Liane Sato, Rudy Suwara and the late Jack Henn. Current SDSU women's volleyball coaches Brent Hilliard and Steve Timmons have also been inducted into the HOF.