Volleyball

The top four seeded teams advanced to today’s semifinals of the $40,000 Hermosa Beach Open. The tournament originally had $50,000 in prize money, but financial troubles at the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. forced a 25% reduction in prize money at each of the eight remaining tournaments. Hermosa Beach is the tour’s 12th stop.

Top-seeded Karolyn Kirby and Angela Rock cruised through their three matches on Saturday and will meet fourth-seeded Cammy Ciarelli and Jackie Silva in today’s 9:30 a.m. semifinal at the Hermosa Beach Pier.

Silva and Ciarelli won their first two matches easily, then ran into trouble against fifth-seeded Gail Castro and Lori Kotas in the quarterfinals. Ciarelli and Silva fell behind, 6-1, but came back for a 15-11 victory.

In the other semifinal, third-seeded Janice Harrer and Nancy Reno will meet second-seeded Liz Masakayan and Linda Carrillo. Harrer-Reno had a tough match against 14th-seeded Charlotte Mitchel and Kelly VanWinden, but they prevailed, 15-12, and then defeated sixth-seeded Elaine Roque and Patty Dodd, 15-6, in the quarterfinals.

Carrillo and Masakayan defeated seventh-seeded Barbara Fontana and Deb Richardson, 15-6, in their quarterfinal match.