Dominant duo dealt stunning loss

Through atypically overcast skies Sunday, a ray of hope emerged for

the bullied masses of the Association of Volleyball Professionals’

women’s beach circuit.

Newport Harbor High product Misty May-Treanor and partner Kerri

Walsh, who have consistently kicked sand in the collective faces of

the competition since teaming up in 2003, were upset, 21-15, 21-16,

by Elaine Youngs and Rachel Wacholder in the title match near the

Huntington Beach Pier.

The loss snapped a streak of five straight AVP tournament

victories for the reigning Olympic champions, who had also won seven

of the first eight AVP events this season.

It was the first time May-Treanor and Walsh had been swept since

June 6, 2004 and the first time they were swept in a final since July

of 2003.

It was the third time in 12 meetings Youngs and Wacholder

triumphed over the seemingly insurmountable No. 1 seeds, who are now

113-4 as a top-seeded duo. May-Treanor and Walsh have been the AVP

Team of the Year the last two seasons and had an 89-match winning

streak snapped last season.

Youngs, an El Toro High product who played at UCLA, and Wacholder,

who starred at Laguna Beach High and the University of Colorado,

earned their second title this season. They also knocked off

May-Treanor and Walsh in the final of the Cincinnati Open July 3.

This was the first time they had swept May-Treanor and Walsh.

“I think we both played well, individually and as a team, the

whole match,” Youngs said. “We had great energy and an aggressive

mind-set. I just think we had the whole package and [May-Treanor and

Walsh] didn’t have their whole package. Thank God, for once, they

were mortal.”

May-Treanor and Walsh both praised the play of their two

opponents. May-Treanor, who led Newport Harbor to a mythical national

championship in 1994, then won a national championship at Long Beach

State where she was twice the NCAA Player of the Year, also said the

title match was not one of her better performances.

“That’s the best I’ve seen [Youngs and Wacholder] play together,”

May-Treanor said. “That’s what you want -- to both be playing well

and on all cylinders. I don’t think we had that today. It has been a

long year and it just wasn’t a good sideout day [scoring when the

opponent serves] for me today. We made more mistakes than they did.”

May-Treanor said Wacholder, against whom she has competed since

they both were in high school, was particularly potent Sunday.

“Rachel beat me at my own game, that little weasel,” May-Treanor

said with a smile, referring to Wacholder’s sterling defense and

shot-making ability at the net.

May-Treanor, 28, also said a blocking adjustment by Youngs gave

her trouble.

“Elaine used a later block [delaying her jump] so I didn’t have

the vision I normally do [to find an opening on the court at which to

hit or tip the ball],” May said. “I didn’t have the angles I usually

have on my shots and my shots were a little bit off.”

While May-Treanor and Walsh admittedly struggled, Wacholder’s

spikes, off-speed rainbow shots and tips seemed to find the lines all

match long. And Youngs’ energy was apparent, particularly when she

won two jousts at the net [both players jumping and contacting the

ball simultaneously] with the taller Walsh.

“[The 6-foot-3 Walsh] is so giant, you’ve got to have perfect

timing,” the 6-0 Youngs, 35, said of the two jousts. “And, to be

honest, I thought I hit the net on one of those.”

Both teams said Youngs and Wacholder made several adjustments from

the two teams’ previous matches.

“They did a great job of strategizing on what to do defensively

against me,” May-Treanor said.

Said Walsh, a former four-time All-American at Stanford who turns

27 today: “[Youngs and Wacholder] sided out well and played amazing

defense. Rachel is so quick, she can hold in the middle [of the

court], then run to where the ball is. They threw a lot of different

things at us today and they’re very good at adjusting.”

Now, after taking today off, it is May-Treanor and Walsh who plan

to adjust to resume their reign of terror the remainder of the

season, beginning this week at the Manhattan Beach Open, Friday

through Sunday.

“We need to practice, which will be a priority in the next couple

of days,” said Walsh, who recognizes why others might grow tired of

one team consistently dominating, but said there will be no lack of

competitive fight to delay their next loss for a very long time.

“I don’t remember a loss like this,” Walsh said. “And I hope it

never, ever happens again.”

Walsh also downplayed a growing rivalry between the two teams,

something Wacholder suggested after the match.

“Misty and I have played them a lot and we’ve had a lot of success

[against them],” Walsh said. “Since the first time we played them, we

saw the potential they had as a team. I think from day one it has

been a rivalry. We’re competitive and we’re always going to compete,

beginning next week.”

To which May-Treanor was quick to add: “And the week after that

and the one after that ...”

Wacholder had a match-high 21 kills in the final, hitting .487 in

39 attempts. She also added 14 digs, tops among all four players.

May-Treanor had 18 kills and 11 digs, while Walsh hit .455 in just

11 kill attempts.

“It wasn’t like Misty played horrible,” Youngs said. “But Rachel

was just laying out to make some of those digs.”

Youngs and Wacholder shared the $28,000 first prize.