Former Eagle upset early

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Matt Fuerbringer and Sean Scott’s names weren’t supposed to be anywhere near the right side of the big yellow bracket board at Huntington Beach Friday.

The right side is the losers’ side, the “contender’s bracket” in Assn. of Volleyball Professionals lexicon.

Fuerbringer and Scott entered the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open as the relatively high fourth-seeded team, and their first opponents were No. 29th-seeded Dane Jensen and Mike Placek. Perhaps the games weren’t supposed to be a cakewalk, but an accomplished and experienced team like Fuerbringer and Scott was, theoretically, not supposed to wind up in the loser bracket.

But after falling 21-19, 21-19 to Jensen and Placek, that’s where they were.

The double elimination system of the AVP means that all the losers from the first round of play face each other in order to move through the competition to the finals.

So Fuerbringer, who is from Costa Mesa, and Scott still had a chance to redeem themselves.

They blew it.

After a 21-15, 21-15 loss to Paul Baxter and Canyon Ceman eliminated the pair from the tournament, Fuerbringer picked up a plastic folding chair and slammed it into the sand in frustration. Scott bellowed at himself midway through the second game after he made a mistake.

“It’s not freakin’ rocket science out here, it’s really not,” said Fuerbringer, an Estancia High product. “It’s two guys and you go out and you play your game and if you make the plays, you make them. We just weren’t making them.”

Fuerbringer and Scott, who started playing together at the season opener in Miami, made it to the semifinals in Dallas before losing to Jake Gibb, a Costa Mesa resident, and Sean Rosenthal. They lost in an early round in Miami to Matt Olson and Jason Ring.

But this loss was his career worst, Fuerbringer estimated.

“This is definitely the toughest moment I’ve ever had,” Fuerbringer said.

He didn’t want to lose too much perspective, however.

“I may not be happy pants smiling down here, but I’m not going to go home and cry to anyone,” Fuerbringer said. “I’m playing volleyball for a living — I’m just not going to cry. I put a lot of time into it, so it’s frustrating, but there’s people in the war right now, so I’m fine.”

Costa Mesa resident Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger, the No. 2 seed, also fell in the first round to a low-seeded team (No. 31-seeded Vincent Robbins and Jason Wright), and battled back in three games against Jeff Carlucci and Adam Roberts to win 21-17, 16-21, 15-9. They will play Brent Doble and Ty Loomis.

Mike Morrison and Ty Tramblie, a Newport Harbor graduate, lost 21-14, 19-21, 15-9 in the first round to Karch Kiraly and Kevin Wong.

Gibb and Rosenthal beat Adam Jewell and Jose Loiola 18-21, 23-21, 15-11 and will play Hans Stolfus and Scott Wong.

Top-seeded Misty May-Treanor, a Newport Harbor product, and Kerri Walsh defeated Alicia Polzin and Paula Roca 21-10, 21-14. Today they will play May-Treanor’s former teammate, Holly McPeak, and Logan Tom in the championship bracket’s Round of 16. April Ross, also a Newport Harbor graduate, and Jennifer Boss beat Jennifer Fopma and Stacy Rouwenhorst 21-18, 21-18 and will face Tyra Harper Turner and Rachel Wacholder today, with matches starting at 9:30 a.m.

The men’s final is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m., and the women will vie for the H.B. title at 4:30. The matches will be televised by Fox Sports Network.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.