Top-seeded teams take it home

HUNTINGTON BEACH — They came, they saw and they conquered — as they have done all season on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour.

Just because Newport Harbor High alumna Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh aren’t playing this season, don’t think there aren’t some dominant teams on tour. The top-seeded duos of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, as well as Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, hammered that point home all weekend on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Both teams captured their fourth title in five AVP Tour stops this season. Dalhausser and Rogers topped second-seeded Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb and Corona del Mar resident Sean Rosenthal in the men’s final Sunday afternoon, 22-20, 21-17.

For Branagh and Youngs, a 21-19, 21-17 victory over Costa Mesa resident April Ross and her partner Jen Kessy did the trick.

Both winning teams split a $24,000 first-place check.

Dalhausser and Rogers, the gold medal winners at last year’s Beijing Olympics, obviously like Huntington Beach; they had previously won here in 2006 and 2008. On Sunday, they survived a game point at 19-20 in the opening game, as Dalhausser got a big block on Gibb and then a kill for the game.

In the next game, it appeared to be a runaway as Dalhausser and Rogers, as they stormed to a 12-7 advantage. But Gibb and Rosenthal stormed right back behind their partisan crowd, pulling even at 13-13. They could never take the lead, however, despite some big digs by Rosenthal near the end.

Rogers, whose tour nickname is “The Professor,” came up with some huge digs of his own, making for some scintillating rallies.

“It was all about ‘Rosie’ and I, dig for dig for dig,” Rogers said. “Crazy digs too. Sprawling on cut shots, or just major hammers and popping it up. That’s what makes this game fun for me. I had a lot of fun just battling back and forth with him.

“I like [playing Huntington Beach] because the fans know the sport. Especially when Rosie and I are making crazy digs, and they know the difficulties that we go through in setting and whatnot, and dealing with the wind or whatnot.”

Dalhausser, who like his partner is a man of few words on the court, had to agree.

“It always feels good to win on a Southern California beach,” he said. “The history’s here; this is where the sport grew to where it’s at now. You’ve got to be stoked about a Huntington Beach win.”

Branagh and Youngs have emerged as the dominant women’s team on the tour with May-Treanor and Walsh out, although they were beaten in the Houston final the previous weekend by Ross and Kessy.

This time, they came out firing, battling back from an early first-game deficit and leading throughout the second game as well. The point of the match occurred in the second game when Youngs, already on the ground, actually walked on her knees over to dig a ball and eventually won the rally with a kill.

“They served a lot better than we did,” Kessy said. “They bombed their serves at me the whole game and never stooped. It put a lot of pressure on my passing and my siding-out. I made a couple of errors and they got a couple of blocks, and that’s the game.”

Youngs, who captured her 29th AVP title and 10th with Branagh, said she doesn’t feel pressure as the top seed.

“There’s no other Kerri and Misty,” she said. “They’re one of a kind. But being the top dog is something I’m enjoying. I don’t mind it; I have a lot of fun with it. I don’t really feel a lot of pressure, because I’m confident in my partner and confident in our team.”

Other locals placed highly at Huntington Beach as well. The sister team of Katie and Tracy Lindquist, who both went to Ocean View High and still live in Surf City, finished tied for ninth and split $3,960. Huntington Beach resident Saralyn Smith and teammate Beth Van Fleet finished tied for 17th and split $960.

On the men’s side, Huntington Beach resident Ed Ratledge and partner Ryan Mariano finished tied for ninth and split $3.960. Another Huntington Beach resident and former Golden West College standout, Jeff Carlucci, was also tied for 17th with partner Mike Placek.

The AVP Tour continues this weekend in Atlanta.