Local duo must fight

HERMOSA BEACH — The local-based duo of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal will have to show some fight today if they want to win back-to-back Assn. Volleyball Professional beach tour events.

The Manhattan Beach champs did find some fire in their last match Saturday at the Hermosa Beach Open and are still alive, playing in today’s contender’s bracket finals. If they win they advance to the semifinals, where the No. 2-seeded team of John Hyden and Sean Scott will be waiting.

To get to today’s action, Gibb, a Costa Mesa resident, and Rosenthal of Corona del Mar had to get past Matt Fuerbringer, the former Estancia High standout, and Casey Jennings, seeded seventh.

Gibb and Rosenthal, the No. 3 seeds, had to use 66 minutes to hold off Fuerbringer and Jennings to finally win, 18-21, 21-13, 21-19.

Fuerbringer and Jennings had a 10-8 led in the third set, and also fought off match point when trailing, 15-14. They also had match point at 18-17.

But Gibb and Rosenthal had the last spike as they came back to win the set and the match with a 21-19 victory.

In their five matches at the Hermosa Beach Open, Fuerbringer had 43 kills, eight digs and 14 blocks. Jennings had 70 kills, 60 digs and no blocks. They earned $5,280 and 370 points at the tournament.

Fuerbringer and Jennings lost in the third round to Hyden and Scott, 21-15, 16-21, 15-13, to get knocked into the contender’s bracket.

Gibb and Rosenthal will play the No. 4-seeded duo of Matt Olson and Kevin Wong today in the contender’s bracket finals.

Ty Loomis, another Corona del Mar resident, and Casey Patterson, the No. 8 seeds, are also still alive, playing in the contender’s bracket finals, even after suffering a loss to the top-seeded team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, who won, 21-17, 21-14.

But Loomis and Patterson bounced back, winning twice in the contender’s bracket, both of them three-set matches.

First they beat Joey Dykstra and Albert Hannemann, 16-21, 38-36, 19-17. The second-set win was an AVP record, but they broke it in their next win, when they had to work extra hard to take out the No. 5-seeded duo of John Mayer and Jeff Nygaard, 20-22, 40-38, 15-10.

Gibb and Rosenthal had to bounce back too, after losing to the No. 6-seeded team of Brad Keenan and Nick Lucena, 20-22, 21-11 15-7.

Even though Rosenthal, who grew up in Redondo Beach, had his legion of fans — the Rosie’s Raiders — at the Hermosa Beach Open, he and Gibbs lost in the third round after losing a controversial first set.

“They’re out in full force out here in Hermosa and Manhattan,” Rosenthal said of Rosie’s Raiders. “They bring more people to the game because our court is so loud and people go, ‘What’s going on over there?’ ”

In that first set, Rosie’s Raiders drew more crowds near with their noise after the referees reversed a line call in favor of Keenan and Lucena.

Because of that reversal, instead of having a 21-18 set win, Gibb and Rosenthal served for set-point at 20-19 and then lost the set and eventually the match.

“Nobody really knows,” Rosenthal said. “We didn’t have line judges at that time. They happen to come a few plays later.”

In the tiebreaker set, after Gibb spiked a ball passed the line to lose, 15-11, the Costa Mesa resident grabbed on the net and shook it violently, expressing his frustration and their end for a back-to-back title bid.

“They were a little off their game, but no excuses,” Gibb said of the referees. “Brad and Nick played great today.”

Newport Beach resident Jonathan Acosta and Paul Baxter ended their play in the contender’s bracket third round. Billy Allen and Braidy Halverson beat them, 21-17, 21-17.