Road to record goes through Ross and Boss

HERMOSA BEACH — To get a chance to break a coveted record, Misty May-Treanor will have to go through a fellow Newport Harbor High alumna.

May-Treanor, who needs one more tournament title to become the winningest woman on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour, and Kerri Walsh will face April Ross and Jennifer Ross in a semifinal match today at the Hermosa Beach Open.

Matches start at 8 a.m. and the women finals are set for 2:30 p.m.

A pair of locals are also colliding in the men’s semifinals today. Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, the No. 2 seed, will face fellow Costa Mesa resident Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger, the third seed, in a semifinal.

The men’s final starts after the women’s final ends at approximately 4 p.m.

May-Treanor and Walsh collected three sweeps Saturday to help May-Treanor get that match closer to notching tournament title No. 73. That would break the record held by May-Treanor’s former teammate, Holly McPeak.

The top-seeded duo defeated Chrissie Zartman and Victoria Prince, 21-12, 21-11, to start things off in the morning. They then dispatched Katie and Tracy Lindquist, 21-15, 21-13, and ended their day with another sweep over Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis, 23-21, 21-16.

Ross and Boss, the fifth seed, earned wins over Wendy Lockhart and Kim Whitney (21-12, 21-13) and Angie Akers and Brooke Hanson (21-12, 21-15).

Ross and Boss went three games to get past Dianne DeNecochea and Barbra Fontana, 21-19, 13-21, 15-11, and into today’s semifinals.

In the other semifinal, Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder will go up against Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

The other men’s semifinal pits top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers against the No. 4-seeded tandem of Matt Olson and Jason Ring

Matt Fuerbringer, an Estancia High product, and Sean Scott, the eighth seed, are alive in the contender’s bracket and will face Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard, the fifth seed, today.

— From staff reports