Gibb and Rosie stay strong

HUNTINGTON BEACH — While much of the talk at the Huntington Beach Open was about a certain baby, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal made sure they weren’t the ones left crying.

Gibb, a Costa Mesa resident, and Rosenthal of Corona del Mar weren’t about to gift-wrap a victory for new father Casey Jennings, and his teammate Matt Fuerbringer, an Estancia High product.

Jennings’ wife, Kerri Walsh, delivered a healthy baby boy, Joseph Michael Jennings, Friday night. But Saturday was a new day on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour, and it belonged to the team known as Gibb and Rosie.

Still, the No. 2 seeds had to use three games to take out the determined Jennings-Fuerbringer duo in the third round, winning, 20-22, 21-17, 15-11.

Jennings and Fuerbringer, the No. 7 seeds, ended up finishing seventh after losing in the contender’s bracket.

Meanwhile, Gibb and Rosenthal had to go another three games to win their quarterfinal match, 21-19, 18-21, 16-14, against John Hyden and Sean Scott. Gibb came up big in the third game. With the score tied, 11-11, Gibb swung the momentum to his team with two huge blocks on Hyden.

However, Scott ended the block party with a kill. Gibb answered with a floater in the corner to grab match point, 14-12. But Hyden and Scott fought off two match points.

Rosenthal recorded a kill for a 15-14 lead and then perhaps fittingly Gibb ended the match with a block on Hyden.

“Huge,” Gibb said of the win. “They beat us last tournament [in Houston] in the semis. It’s a really tough team for us. They’re just really good players. It was a big win.”

Gibb and Rosenthal advance to today’s semifinals. The top seeds and Olympic gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers are in the semifinals, too playing on the other side of the bracket.

Ty Loomis, also a Corona del Mar resident and a UC Irvine alumnus, will try to get to the semifinals with his teammate Casey Patterson today. Loomis and Patterson, the No. 12 seeds, face the No. 6-seeded team of Matt Olson and Kevin Wong in the contender’s bracket fourth round with the winner advancing to play against Gibb and Rosenthal.

ROSS ADVANCES TO SEMIS

April Ross, a former Newport Harbor High standout, contends her team is still the same even after winning its first AVP title last week in Houston.

Ross and Jen Kessy had been winless in nine AVP finals prior to breaking through last week. Sure it felt great to win, Ross said, but they remain hungry for another title, especially at a beach so close to home.

Ross said many asked the question, “How does it feel to get the monkey off your back,” after winning the AVP title last week.

“Everyone else kind of put that monkey there, but we really didn’t feel it,” said Ross, who has won three international titles with Kessy. “We knew we were playing good volleyball. We knew we were getting to the finals. We weren’t pleased with our play in the finals, up until last weekend. It was just a matter of us playing at the top of our game.”

Ross and Kessy appeared to be on top of their game Saturday, especially in the quarterfinals. The No. 2 seeds beat Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 21-14, 21-14, to advance to today’s semifinals.

The top-seeded team of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs also went undefeated Saturday to move on to the semifinals. Branagh and Youngs have been the team that has taken over the AVP Tour with Walsh and Newport Harbor product Misty May-Treanor out.

But Ross and Kessy feel like they can be that top team. In that sense they are different after winning in Houston.

They’ll try to show they’re the best today.