Post by bigfan on Jun 7, 2010 11:51:26 GMT -5
www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_15242095
HUNTINGTON BEACH - Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh appeared on their way to winning the championship of the AVP Nivea Tour Huntington Beach Open on Sunday.
The top-seeded duo played dynamic beach volleyball while defeating the second-seeded tandem of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the first set of their championship match.
But a contested point at the end of that set seemed to ignite Kessy and Ross and they roared back to win the next two sets - and the title - by scores of 14-21, 21-12, 15-11.
May-Treanor, of Long Beach, and Torrance's Branagh led the last set, 11-10. Kessy tied it with a kill. With the serve theirs, Kessy and Ross then closed it out.
The final two points came on aces by Ross. The first one was between May-Treanor and Branagh and they didn't seem to know who should return. The match-winner was a laser down the line that Branagh touched but did not come close to returning.
May-Treanor - a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner with Kerri Walsh as her teammate - was playing in only the third AVP Tour event with Branagh as her partner. They had a win and a third-place finish in the other two.
"I don't know if it's like disappointing," May-Treanor said. "I mean, we had our chances. But I felt throughout the whole tournament we got better. You could see our team chemistry coming together.
"They had some plays they pulled out at the end, you know, took it away. But that's what we expected from them."
Top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers squared off with second-seeded John Hyden and Redondo Beach resident Sean Scott in the men's title match. Dalhausser and Rogers - the defending Olympic champions - had their hands full but prevailed, 21-16, 18-21, 15-9.
The 6-foot-9 Dalhausser was clutch in that third set. Leading, 9-6, he made consecutive blocks and then executed a jump-serve ace for a 12-6 advantage.
"Man, I couldn't block either one of them and those
Jennifer Kessy (left) and April Ross spray champagne in celebration of their big AVP championship win Sunday. (Tracey Roman for the Press-Telegram )two blocks felt pretty good," said Dalhausser, of Ormond Beach, Fla. "I finally got one of them and that was the difference, I believe."
May-Treanor and Branagh were near-flawless in sweeping Angie Akers and Tyra Turner in the semifinals. They were all that in the first set against Kessy and Ross, too, but not in the second.
They made errors, and Kessy and Ross played tremendously.
"They're a great team and we knew the second game they weren't going to come out like the first game," Branagh said. "They were going to make some changes."
Kessy said that's exactly what she and Ross did.
"I think we started out not passing very well, they got us a little off-balance and we made errors," Kessy said. "And we missed a couple of serves. Us passing badly and not making them side out, it's a bad combination. So we just went back to the drawing board."
Kessy and Ross were angered because of a call of the final point of the first set. Kessy appeared to have prolonged the set with a sideline kill, but it was ruled out. Ross argued, eventually walking away from an official as he was trying to explain the call.
"I got super uspet - April and I both did - at that last call, which is a judgment call," Kessy said. "But I think it lit a fire."
Like May-Treanor, Ross attended Newport Harbor High. But Ross said there was no added incentive from that standpoint.
"Any time I'm across the net from Misty, all of her other accolades come out, obviously, everything she's done," Ross said. "You know you have to play 100 percent."
It was the first win in Huntington Beach for Kessy and Ross.
"I always dreamed to be in this final and win it," said Kessy, who was smiling big. "My dream has become a reality."
Kessy and Ross pocketed $20,000, May-Treanor and Branagh $15,000.
robert.morales@presstelegram.com
HUNTINGTON BEACH - Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh appeared on their way to winning the championship of the AVP Nivea Tour Huntington Beach Open on Sunday.
The top-seeded duo played dynamic beach volleyball while defeating the second-seeded tandem of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the first set of their championship match.
But a contested point at the end of that set seemed to ignite Kessy and Ross and they roared back to win the next two sets - and the title - by scores of 14-21, 21-12, 15-11.
May-Treanor, of Long Beach, and Torrance's Branagh led the last set, 11-10. Kessy tied it with a kill. With the serve theirs, Kessy and Ross then closed it out.
The final two points came on aces by Ross. The first one was between May-Treanor and Branagh and they didn't seem to know who should return. The match-winner was a laser down the line that Branagh touched but did not come close to returning.
May-Treanor - a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner with Kerri Walsh as her teammate - was playing in only the third AVP Tour event with Branagh as her partner. They had a win and a third-place finish in the other two.
"I don't know if it's like disappointing," May-Treanor said. "I mean, we had our chances. But I felt throughout the whole tournament we got better. You could see our team chemistry coming together.
"They had some plays they pulled out at the end, you know, took it away. But that's what we expected from them."
Top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers squared off with second-seeded John Hyden and Redondo Beach resident Sean Scott in the men's title match. Dalhausser and Rogers - the defending Olympic champions - had their hands full but prevailed, 21-16, 18-21, 15-9.
The 6-foot-9 Dalhausser was clutch in that third set. Leading, 9-6, he made consecutive blocks and then executed a jump-serve ace for a 12-6 advantage.
"Man, I couldn't block either one of them and those
Jennifer Kessy (left) and April Ross spray champagne in celebration of their big AVP championship win Sunday. (Tracey Roman for the Press-Telegram )two blocks felt pretty good," said Dalhausser, of Ormond Beach, Fla. "I finally got one of them and that was the difference, I believe."
May-Treanor and Branagh were near-flawless in sweeping Angie Akers and Tyra Turner in the semifinals. They were all that in the first set against Kessy and Ross, too, but not in the second.
They made errors, and Kessy and Ross played tremendously.
"They're a great team and we knew the second game they weren't going to come out like the first game," Branagh said. "They were going to make some changes."
Kessy said that's exactly what she and Ross did.
"I think we started out not passing very well, they got us a little off-balance and we made errors," Kessy said. "And we missed a couple of serves. Us passing badly and not making them side out, it's a bad combination. So we just went back to the drawing board."
Kessy and Ross were angered because of a call of the final point of the first set. Kessy appeared to have prolonged the set with a sideline kill, but it was ruled out. Ross argued, eventually walking away from an official as he was trying to explain the call.
"I got super uspet - April and I both did - at that last call, which is a judgment call," Kessy said. "But I think it lit a fire."
Like May-Treanor, Ross attended Newport Harbor High. But Ross said there was no added incentive from that standpoint.
"Any time I'm across the net from Misty, all of her other accolades come out, obviously, everything she's done," Ross said. "You know you have to play 100 percent."
It was the first win in Huntington Beach for Kessy and Ross.
"I always dreamed to be in this final and win it," said Kessy, who was smiling big. "My dream has become a reality."
Kessy and Ross pocketed $20,000, May-Treanor and Branagh $15,000.
robert.morales@presstelegram.com
