Gibb coasts, Lambert alive

LONG BEACH — It wasn’t the way they would have liked to finish Saturday afternoon, but with a loss in the quarterfinals of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals’ Long Beach open, there was only so much disappointment Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger could muster.

The third-seeded team lost 21-19, 21-19 to Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, but can still make it into the men’s semifinals with a win today over No. 10 Nick Lucena and Mark Williams.

“It’s not a super-high stakes game, but we love testing ourselves against that team,” said Lambert, who lives in Costa Mesa. “They’re a very good team, and it’s disappointing. We probably made a few too many serving errors trying to serve tough and put the pressure on them.”

Serving soft against Dalhausser and Rogers isn’t an option either, Lambert said, because “they’re so good, if you do, they’ll just side out against you all day.”

Life got tougher for the duo after Rogers had two aces in Game Two, both on serves that just barely made it over the net. Lambert and Metzger were able to tie at 19-19, but were unsuccessful in forcing a third game.

Lambert and Metzger have won the last two AVP tournaments, displacing Dalhausser and Rogers from their usual roost in Seaside Heights, N.J. and Charleston, S.C.

No. 1 Jake Gibb of Costa Mesa and Sean Rosenthal coasted into today’s semifinals with a 21-10, 21-15 win Saturday over John Hyden and Brad Keenan.

Tournament play starts today at 9:00 a.m., with the men’s final, which will be broadcast live on NBC, set to begin at 1:00 p.m.

Lambert was another player who was happy to see the tour return to Long Beach after a seven-year hiatus.

“We like the site here,” he said. “It’s been a good crowd and a good turnout, and we’re happy with it. Hopefully it will be a place to come back to for years to come.”

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