Sunday was a record-setting day for the top-seeded teams at the AVP NIVEA Tour Hermosa Beach Open, with Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers becoming the first men’s or women’s team to capture five consecutive titles at the event and the women’s team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross winning their first Hermosa Beach Open championship.
Losing just one game in five matches, Dalhausser and Rogers had little trouble defeating 13th-seeded John Mayer and Matt Prosser 21-14, 21-11. Averaging a tour-leading 2.16 blocks per game, Dalhausser dominated the net, recording 11 blocks in the two-game championship match.
“John got it through me a couple times – eventually I’m going to adjust, and I figured it out,” Dalhausser said. “I could just see what John was doing. Everything was slow-mo, the moons aligned and everything worked out perfectly.”
The victory marked Dalhausser and Rogers’ 54th title together, moving past current AVP Commissioner Mike Dodd and Tim Hovland into third place.
“It’s pretty cool considering only one other team has won five in a row (at the same location),” Rogers said, referring to Mike O’Bright and Mike O’Hara’s five straight Manhattan Beach wins from 1960-64. “It’s pretty special.”
Dalhausser and Rogers improved their record to 29-0 while winning their fourth consecutive tournament on the AVP NIVEA Tour.
Reaching the finals was a new experience for Prosser and only the second time for Mayer. Prosser, a former Long Beach State player who still resides in the city, hopes the success will carry over into this weekend when he plays in front of a hometown crowd at the AVP NIVEA Long Beach Open.
“It was awesome,” Prosser said after his first final appearance. “I didn’t know what to expect. It was everything that I could have expected, plus some. It was awesome. This is what we work for. We’ll take a lot from it and put it to use next week in Long Beach.”
Third-place finishers in the men’s competition were Casey Jennings (Hermosa Beach)/Brad Keenan and Jeff Nygaard/Matt Olson.
For Kessy and Ross, their 21-17, 21-14 victory over third-seeded Rachel Scott and Elaine Youngs was their fourth straight championship on the tour and first in Hermosa Beach. Kessy and Ross dropped only one game in the tournament, a 19-21 loss to qualifiers Diane Copenhagen and Jaimi Gregory in the first game Saturday.
“I’m so excited to be standing here,” Kessy said after the victory. “This is our second win in California, but it feels like our first. We kept getting better every match. I’m just really ecstatic to have won Hermosa.”
Kessy and Ross didn’t have too much time to celebrate the victory having to rush to the airport to catch a flight to Marseilles, France where the world’s No. 2 ranked team will compete on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour, leaving a window of opportunity open for Scott and Youngs in Long Beach. Sunday’s championship match was the second straight between the two teams, both with the same outcome.
“I was disappointed,” said Scott, who lives in Redondo Beach with her husband and AVP star Sean. “It’s the most disappointed I’ve been all year. This one’s hard. They served well. There was a little wind and they used it but they made less errors and were more consistent. I didn’t pass well, and you’ve got to pass well to beat good teams.”
Sharing the disappointment at Hermosa Beach was the second-seeded team of Nicole Branagh (Torrance) and Misty May-Treanor which, for the first time this season, failed to reach the semifinals.
The Redondo Beach team of Angela Lewis and Priscilla Lima knocked Branagh and May-Treanor into the contender’s bracket with a 15-21, 21-17, 17-15 upset Saturday. Lewis and Lima were eventually eliminated by third-place finishers Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson-Jordan while Branagh and May-Treanor were defeated by the other third-place team – Angie Akers (Redondo Beach) and Tyra Turner – in the 6th round.
Like Prosser, May-Treanor returns to her college stomping grounds this weekend. The two-time Olympic gold medalist was a Co-MVP after leading Long Beach State to the NCAA women’s volleyball championship in 1988.
Midway through his first season as AVP Commissioner, Dodd said he is pleased with the direction the association is heading.
“The AVP NIVEA Tour so far has been well executed and received by the public, sponsors and players,” Dodd said. “The toughest part (of the job) is implementing procedures and policies that I believe are good for the sport but know that a certain group of individual players may suffer in the short term. The most enjoyable is helping to plan and execute strategies that will lead to the stability and profitability of our Tour.”
While thousands of fans were enjoying the long-awaited summer heat as they navigated through the new layout at the Hermosa Beach Open, a number of local players were excited to be playing on Saturday.
Reaching the men’s main draw of 32 teams after top-eight finishes in the qualifying rounds were Jon Mesko (Manhattan Beach, 23rd seed), John Moran (Redondo Beach, 24th), Dana Camacho (El Segundo, 27th) and the team of Brook Billings (Hermosa Beach) and Chris Icaza (Manhattan Beach) that earned the dubious honor of being the last team to advance and the first team to lose to Dalhausser and Rogers.
Local women qualifying for the main draw were Mariko Coverdale (Torrance, 28th), Meri-de Boyer (Redondo Beach, 29th) and the team of Tealle Hunkus (El Segundo) and Heather Lowe (Redondo Beach) which earned the 27th spot.
Fans in attendance on Sunday were given the opportunity to see the return of two-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh to competition for the first time this year after giving birth to her and husband (and AVP star) Casey Jennings’ second son in May.
Walsh, who has been providing her expertise in the broadcast booth for television, competed for Team NIVEA in the AVP NIVEA 4-Woman Series presented by NIKE. Walsh is hoping to rejoin the tour at the San Francisco Open August 14-15.
“Anytime Kerri is within 100 miles of a tournament site the AVP wins,” Dodd said. “If she feels ready to play 2-man by San Francisco, we will be ecstatic. We support Kerri in whatever time line and decision works best for her and her family.”
The AVP and NIKE have teamed up with NIVEA, Paul Mitchell, Malibu Rum and Bud Light Lime for the launch of the series of two 4-Woman events that will continue in Long Beach. Sunday’s semifinals will be played at 10 a.m., with a final following at noon.
“The AVP is quite excited to work with NIKE to create this special onsite addition to our weekend,” said Jason Hodell, AVP CEO. “This series adds terrific entertainment value to our packed So Cal events and allows the AVP to feature a world-class brand in NIKE alongside our current sponsors.”
The event features four sponsored teams of four women competing on Sundays in three best-of-three matches. Current and former AVP athletes who play in each 4-Woman event will compete for $10,000 in prize money.
Team captains of the 4-Woman teams are be Gabrielle Reece (Team NIKE), Leanne McSorley (Team Bud Light Lime and Team Malibu Rum), Nancy (Mason) Reynolds (Team Paul Mitchell) and Mira Costa girls volleyball coach Lisa Zimmerman (Team NIVEA).
Zimmerman’s team NIVEA, – which included Walsh, Tracy Jones and Jenny Kropp – defeated Team Bud Light Lime (McSorley, Lauren Fendrick, Michelle Williams and Whitney Pavlik) at Hermosa Beach. The team captains will hold a new draft of team members for the Long Beach event.
Also held in conjunction with the AVP NIVEA Long Beach Open will be the 4th Annual Collegiate Open Beach Volleyball Championship run by the legendary Sinjin Smith.
“Sinjin Smith is an icon of our sport and we are proud to have the AVP’s top athletes competing next to elite collegiate players this coming weekend,” said Jason Hodell, AVP CEO. “This is a great way to enhance the experience for those competing in Sinjin’s event, further develop beach volleyball’s pipeline of exciting young talent, and continue our outreach to the core of Volleyball Nation.”
Players interested in competing in the Collegiate Beach Open Volleyball Championship can still sign up at www.collegebeachvolleyball.com. All are welcome to watch the event, which will start on Saturday at 9 a.m.
The AVP NIVEA Long Beach Open presented by Malibu Rum will be held at Marina Green Park beginning Saturday at 9 a.m. with men’s and women’s main draw competition. Sunday’s action begins at 9 a.m. with the men’s final scheduled for 1 p.m. followed by the women’s championship match at 3 p.m.
Free general admission is offered throughout the weekend. For courtside seats, visit www.avp.com. ER
