Local players take nice hiatus in Paris

True May-niacs already know why it’s been virtually impossible to catch a recent glimpse of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, along with other top beach volleyball athletes.

The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour is on a two-week hiatus while its top contenders compete in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball’s Henkel Grand Chelem, which features teams from Brazil, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and China.

Athens Olympic gold medalists May-Treanor and Walsh, Nicole Branaugh and Elaine Youngs, and Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder are among the womens’ teams competing in the Elite Eight today in Paris where the first place prize is $43,500, with a total prize pot of $600,000.

While it’s one thing to dominate on the domestic front, Walsh and her Newport Harbor-bred partner have proven themselves internationally as well.

May-Treanor and Walsh are the second-winningest women’s team on the FIVB World Tour with 24 gold medals, and the Henkel Grand Chelem is their 48th international start.

Today they’re competing against Sydney Olympic champion Natalie Cook and her new partner Tamsin Barnett of Australia, a match thought to be a preview of Beijing competition in 2008, on the Champs de Mars, within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower.

The Henkel Grand Chelem is part of the qualifying process for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and also helps finalize the list of participants for the 2007 FIVB World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland.

DALHAUSSER, ROGERS CONTINUE

Three U.S. teams on the men’s side also advanced to the Elite Eight round of the Henkel Grand Chelem: Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, and Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal.

Lambert and Metzger will face Spain’s Pablo Herrera and Raul Mesa.

The 2002 FIVB World champions for players under the age of 21, seeded 21st, upset seventh-seeded Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes of Brazil, the defending Henkel Grand Chelem champions Friday afternoon 21-16, 16-21 and 17-15. Lambert and Metzer, seeded 14th, placed fifth last year.

Even on the world stage, there’s a possibility that Lambert and Metzger won’t be able to claim a title without going through the AVP’s tour de force coupling of Dalhausser and Rogers. If they defeat the Spaniards today, Lambert and Metzger would have to play either reigning Olympic champions and second-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil or 12th-seeded Dalhausser and Rogers in Saturday’s second semifinal match.

Top-seeded Gibb and Rosenthal will face third-seeded Pedro Cunha and Franco Neto of Brazil in today’s first quarterfinal match. Gibb and Rosenthal, placed second to Araujo and Magalhaes here in 2006.

The pair has advanced to a FIVB finale in three of their last four events, and struck gold last October in Acapulco over Rego and Santos. Gibb will be seeking his third-straight Henkel Grand Chelem Final Four appearance after placing second with Metzger in 2005.

The AVP tour will resume July 5-8 in Seaside Heights, N.J., and return to California with the Long Beach Open, July 19-22.

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