In the neighborhood of greatness

Professional beach volleyball star Mike Lambert, who has lived in Costa Mesa for 1 1/2 years, decided to move to the area for very specific reasons.

“The good surf,” Lambert said. “The [volleyball] courts close by in Huntington Beach where I can train. Housing is more affordable than in the South Bay. And there’s some great neighborhoods in Costa Mesa that are ideal for raising kids.”

Lambert has a 13-month-old daughter, Sveva, with his Italian wife, Deborah.

He also boasts a string of 10 straight semifinal appearances on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour with Hawaii-born partner, Stein Metzger.

Lambert, who grew up with Metzger in Honolulu, where they both went to Punahou School, will try to keep the streak going this weekend at the Manhattan Beach Open.

“We’ve done a good job getting to the final four,” Lambert said.

Lambert and Metzger, who have won three of the last five AVP tournaments this season, are seeded No. 1 in the tournament and are leading the chase for the Crocs Cup title, which goes to the team with the most points at the end of the year.

“Playing with Stein is great for a lot of reasons,” Lambert said. “I’m a right-side blocker and he’s a left-side defender. We get along really well. We’re both from Hawaii. We’ve known each other since high school.”

Known affectionately as “Lambo,” or “Hawaiian Curtain,” the 6-foot-6 Lambert, 32, also is quite the musical artist. He has played guitar for 14 years, he writes songs and he sings. He wrote and performed the official anthem of the AVP Tour in 2004 (“We are the AVP”) and 2005 (“I love the AVP”).

But he is writing more these days for a different audience.

“A lot of my songs now are baby songs,” said Lambert, who met his wife when they were both playing indoor volleyball in Italy.

Lambert occasionally plays at Blue Beat, an old Newport Beach bar steps from the pier. He likes to play acoustic guitar versions of songs by Sublime, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper.

But his volleyball schedule is so hectic, especially this time of year, it’s hard to find the time.

Most of the top pro beach players compete on both the AVP Tour and the Federation Internationale de Volleyball Tour, which runs from May to early November.

Lambert and Metzger just returned from a two-event stint overseas, finishing fifth at FIVB events in Paris, France, and Klagenfurt, Austria.

“Austria was really cool,” Lambert said. “The people get really into it. You’re considered a loser there if you don’t go to the tournaments.”

Lambert returns to the states in time for the most crucial part of the AVP Tour. The Manhattan Beach Open marks the first of six consecutive AVP events, including the Brooklyn Open Aug. 17-20 and the Cincinnati Open Aug. 31-Sept. 3. All three events are being televised by NBC.

“This is the time of the season to make a statement,” Lambert said.

This is the 50th edition of the Manhattan Beach Open, which has been referred to as “the Super Bowl of beach volleyball.”

The historic tournament has its own walk of fame, featuring a plaque for each year’s winners.

“Everyone wants to get their name on the pier,” said Lambert, whose victory in 2004 with Karch Kiraly in Manhattan Beach marked his first AVP title. “There’s definitely a hole in your career if you don’t win in Manhattan Beach.”

In the last 11 Manhattan Beach opens, there have been 11 different winning teams.

Lambert has 10 AVP titles to his credit, including four in 2004 when he was named AVP Most Valuable Player. He won three tournaments in both 2005 and 2006.

He credits great conditioning and focus for his success the last three years. He trains at the Castle Rock Institute in Newport Beach.

“I go there to work out and get therapy,” Lambert said. “It has helped me a lot.”

He also works out with personal trainer Mike Rangel.

“I met him through Karch Kiraly,” Lambert said. “He puts me through great plyometic workouts on the sand.”

Lambert and Metzger are in a tight battle for AVP supremacy with No. 2-ranked Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers — who won the FIVB event in Austria last weekend to become the first U.S. men’s team to win a gold medal in the last 50 events on that tour — as well as No. 3-ranked Jake Gibb, who also lives in Costa Mesa, and Sean Rosenthal.

Dalhausser and Rogers have the most AVP wins this season with five, but Lambert and Metzger have the most points by virtue of reaching the final four in every AVP event so far this season.

“It’s a tight race with them points-wise,” Lambert said. “We are ahead by a small margin. But we’re kind of trying to play catch-up with them. We want to tie them with five wins each.”

The top three teams keep on kicking each other around. Gibb and Rosenthal beat Lambert and Metzger in the semifinals in Birmingham, Ala. But Gibb and Rosenthal have not been able to beat Dalhausser and Rogers this season.

Lambert and Metzger defeated Dalhausser and Rogers in the final of the Chicago Open on July 23.

“Lately it has been kind of a weird triangle,” Lambert said. “Todd and Phil have been beating Gibb and Rosenthal, and Gibb and Rosenthal have been beating us. It’ll be interesting to see if that trend continues.”

With three different teams battling for titles almost every weekend, there’s never a lack of intrigue on the men’s side of the AVP Tour.

“It’s an interesting triangle,” said Lambert, who teamed with Estancia High graduate Matt Fuerbringer to lead Stanford to the program’s first NCAA title in 1997. “I think it’s good for the sport.”

The main draw begins today at 9 a.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. The final is Sunday at 1:30 p.m.