Wacholder just misses

For video of the women’s final, click here.

HUNTINGTON BEACH – It wasn’t a surprise, really, the way the championship finals of the AVP Crocs Tour Huntington Beach Open turned out today.

The top-seeded men’s team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser and the No. 1 women’s team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh had won the first two events of this year’s tour by claiming tournament titles in Miami and Dallas in April, and the teams were favored again to leave Surf City with tour victory No. 3.

Rogers and Dalhausser were the first to reach the winner’s podium at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier by sweeping the No. 3-seeded team of Brad Keenan and John Hyden, 21-14, 22-20.

May-Treanor and Walsh followed with a sweep of their own as they slipped past No. 3-seed Tyra Turner/Rachel Wacholder 21-17, 22-20.

Both finals had a local flavor to them: Keenan prepped at Fountain Valley High, May-Treanor at Newport Harbor High and Wacholder at Laguna Beach High.

In the women’s final, May-Treanor and Walsh took the lead for good at 14-13 in the opening game and steadily pulled away from Turner and Wacholder. But, the second game was a different story yet proved why May-Treanor and Walsh are the world’s top-ranked team.

Turner and Wacholder bolted to a 7-1 lead on a block by Turner. They seemed in control on their way to taking a 16-12 lead but it was then May-Treanor and Walsh made their move.

They slowlychipped away at the four-point deficit and tied the score at 17-17 on a kill by May-Treanor. A cross-court kill by Turner gave her and Wacholder the lead at 18-17 but surrendered it when a service error by Turner made it 18-18 and then a spectacular offensive exchange by May-Treanor and Walsh led to a point and their first lead of the game, 19-18.

A kill by Wacholder tied the score at 19-19 and the teams were tied one final time at 20-20 before May-Treanor and Walsh closed out the match.

Match point was decided when Wacholder appeared to have scored the tying point, but it was negated when she was called for a lift on the play

“That was a tough match,” May-Treanor said upon accepting the $20,000 first-place check that she and Walsh will split. “It was a good call at the end. You hate to see a match end that way but we’ll take the win. We’ll be playing them tomorrow, anyway.”

Sunday at the pier, the top four men’s and women’s teams in cumulative points from tournament play in Miami, Dallas and Huntington Beach, a trio of tournaments that makes up the three-event Cuervo Gold Crown Series, will play for an additional $25,000 bonus check that goes to each men’s and women’s winning team.

In the men’s Cuervor Gold Crown Series tournament is No. 1-seed Rogers/Dalhausser, No. 2-seed Matt Fuerbringer/Casey Jennings, No. 3-seed Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal and No. 4-seed Keenan/Hyden.

The women’s four-team tournament includes No. 1-seed May-Treanor/Walsh, No. 2-seed Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs, No. 3-seed Turner/Wacholder and No. 4-seed Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan.

Match action begins at 10 a.m. Sunday.

In the men’s final, Keenan, a four-time All-American and two-time Player of the Year at Pepperdine, was cheered on by pockets of fans throughout the grandstands erected at the south side of the pier, a group that included a makeshift band complete with drums and a trombone, that made off-key noise each time Keenan and Hyden won a point.

That band kept on making that noise because of Keenan and Hyden.

In fact, the duo took the lead in the early stages of the first game and three times built a three-point advantage, the final time at 8-5. Rogers and Dalhausser took their first lead at 10-9 on a tap by Dalhausser who went on to score the next four points by himself. That stretch included a pair of service aces down the right-side line that built the lead to 13-9.

They won the game on a block at the net by Dalhausser.

“We started both games a little slowly,” Rogers said. “Brad was making some big blocks to get them going but we caught them quickly. Our outside game was working and we were able to pull away toward the end of that first game.”

The second game had a back-and-forth flow and it appeared that Keenan and Hyden might force a third and decisive game after a great volley of shots by the two led to a dump by Keenan that gave them a 19-17 lead. Then Rogers went to work and came up with consecutive kills to tie the score. Another great exchange of shots between the teams ended when a shot by Keenan sailed wide, and Rogers and Dalhausser wrapped up the title and the first-place check of $20,000 when a low serve by Dalhausser forced Keenan to respond with a low return shot that flew under the net.

“I thought we had them in that second game when we were up 19-17,” Hyden said. “Todd is the best offense player on tour and Phil is the best blocker. Combined, they’re extremely tough.”

Rogers led all players with 15 kills and Keenan was right behind with 14. Dalhausser had seven blocks and four aces and Keenan had five blocks.

Keenan and Hyden, who finished fifth in both Miami and Dallas, split $15,000 for their runner-up finish Saturday.

In head-to-head competition, Rogers and Dalhausser improved to 8-2 against Keenan and Hyden.

Last year, Keenan finished in third place at the Huntington Beach Open.