On the women?s side of the game, the No. 1 team of Misty May and Kerri Walsh had to play hard to continue their winning ways, squeaking out a three-game victory over the Chinese team of Linjun Ji and Whenhui You.
On the men?s side, the Florida team of Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena were the surprise of the tournament, defeating Jake Gibb and Stein Metzger to take their first career title.
Here?s how the tournament unfolded.
AVP Tempe Open Tournament
Austin, Texas
Friday-Sunday, April 29-May 1, 2005
AVP Women
The first day of the main draw play dawned cold and rainy in Austin, but that didn?t stop the fans from coming on out to watch the action.
The top seeds rolled through the their first two matches as expected, though some had a harder time than others.
The No. 1 seeds, Misty May and Kerri Walsh, cruised through their matches, as did the No. 3 seeds, Rachel Wacholder and Elaine Youngs, and the No. 5 seeds, Linjun Li and Whenhui You of China.
The No. 2 seeds, Jennifer Kessy and Holly McPeak, struggled in both of their matches, winning the first one in three games and then finishing the day with a hard fought two-game match against the No. 7 seeds, Angie Akers and Jenny Pavley.
On Sunday, May and Walsh just kept on playing strong, defeating Li and You to reach the semifinals, while Kessy and McPeak also reached the semifinals when they defeated Wacholder and Youngs, the team that had knocked them out of the first 2 events of the year.
In the semifinals, May and Walsh faced off against Wacholder and Youngs, the team that had stretched them to a close three-game final the previous week. May and Walsh didn?t want to have a repeat of that, and cruised to a two-game victory to reach the finals.
Meanwhile, the Li and You reached the semifinals after coming back through the contenders bracket and faced off against Kessy and McPeak, a team that had beaten them the previous week. This Chinese team has been improving all season long, and the pay off came in Austin for them, as they defeated Kessy and McPeak in two-games to reach their first AVP final.
And, what a final it was. A three-game, 62-minute marathon that kept the fans on the edge of their seats the entire time. In the end, May and Walsh came out on top with a 21-14, 19-21 and 15-12 victory and took home the $20,000 first prize check.
Here?s a quick recap of the women?s tourney.
Women?s Top Finishers in Austin
1. Misty May / Kerri Walsh
2. Linjun Ji / Whenhui You
3. Jennifer Kessy / Holly McPeak
3. Rachel Wacholder / Elaine Youngs
5. Carrie Busch / Nancy Mason
5. Tyra Turner / Makare Wilson
7. Angie Akers / Jenny Pavley
7. Katie Lindquist / Tracy Lindquist
9. Daven Allison / Kimberly Coleman
9. Saralyn Smith / Anne Windes
9. Jennifer Holdern / Patti Scofield
9. Michelle More / Suzanne Stonebarger
Semifinals
* Misty May / Kerri Walsh (No. 1 seed) def. Rachel Wacholder / Elaine Youngs (3) 21-9, 21-16 (39 mins)
* Linjun Ji / Whenhui You (5) def. Jennifer Kessy / Holly McPeak (2) 21-18, 21-19 (41 mins)
Final
* Misty May / Kerri Walsh def. Linjun Ji / When You 21-14, 19-21, 15-12 (62 mins)
Women?s Statistical Leaders
Aces (aces, games played)
1. Linjun Ji (12, 14)
2. Elaine Youngs (12, 10)
3. Kerri Eich (8, 7)
4. Barbara Nyland (8, 8)
5. Jaime Lee (7, 9)
Blocks (blocks, games played)
1. Kerri Walsh (20, 11)
2. Jennifer Kessy (13, 9)
3. Alicia Polzin (12, 8)
4. Denise Johns (11, 9)
5. Michelle More (11, 11)
Digs (digs, games played)
1. Rachel Wacholder (67, 10)
2. Suzanne Stonebarger (66, 11)
3. Misty May (64, 11)
4. Holly McPeak (61, 9)
5. Nancy Mason (58, 10)
Kill Pct. (Kills, Attacks, Games, Pct)
1. Kerri Walsh (64, 87, 11, .736)
2. Misty May (95, 152, 11, .625)
3. Linjun Ji (92, 152, 14, .605)
4. Tanya Fuamatu (32, 54, 4, .593)
5. Nancy Mason (94, 160, 10, .588)
AVP Men
The men?s side of the game was supposed to see some parity this season, but Jake Gibb and Stein Metzger seemed to have other plays. After taking the title at this season?s first 2 events, and cruising through the early round matches in Austin, it seemed inevitable that they would win their third title going away.
Of course, someone forgot to tell Floridian?s Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena that, as they came out on fire on Saturday and won their first two matches fairly easy. They ended the first day of play with a tough, close loss though, falling to Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard, the team that had lost the finals in the first two events of the season.
The loss meant that Dalhausser and Lucena would have to climb out of the contender?s bracket on Sunday if they had any hope of reaching their first final together.
On Sunday, Gibb and Metzger continued their winning ways, and defeated the No. 4 seeds, Dain Blanton and Kevin Wong to reach the tournament semifinals.
Dalhausser and Lucena also found their winning form from the previous day. They won three matches in a row, including one against the top team from 2004, Karch Kiraly and Mike Lambert, to reach the semifinals.
The team that stood between them in the championship game -- Holdren and Nygaard ? the team that had beaten them on Saturday.
Well, if the fans thought the match between these two teams was close on Saturday, they hadn?t seen anything yet. In a three-game thriller, Lucena and Dalhausser defeated the No. 2 seeds, 21-15, 20-22 and 15 12, to reach their first championship final. There they would face Gibb and Metzger, who defeated Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings to reach their third final in a row.
After the excitement of the women?s final, the fans didn?t know what to expect from the two teams that entered center court to play for the men?s title. On the one side you had the team that has won two in a row. On the other side you had a young team from Florida that had a good reputation, but had yet to break through on the tour yet. At times like this, you figure it?s either going to be a really good match or a really horrible match.
Well, the fans ended up with a treat, as Dalhausser and Lucena put on a show for the ages, finally squeaking out a three-game, edge of your seat, 78-minute marathon, 19-21, 21-16 and 18-16, to win their first AVP title.
It was an exciting win for the two Florida boys and it will probably be days before they come down from the cloud that the victory put them on.
Here?s a quick recap of the men?s tourney.
Men?s Top Finishers in Austin
1. Phil Dalhausser / Nick Lucena
2. Jake Gibb / Stein Metzger
3. Dax Holdren / Jeff Nygaard
3. Matt Fuerbringer / Casey Jennings
5. Sean Rosenthal / Larry Witt
5. Brent Doble / John Hyden
7. Karch Kiraly / Mike Lambert
7. Dain Blanton / Kevin Wong
9. Eric Fonoimoana / Adam Jewell
9. Paul Baxter / Aaron Boss
9. Jose Loiola / Fred Souza
9. Mark Williams / Scott Wong.
Semifinals
* Jake Gibb / Stein Metzger (No. 1 seed) def. Matt Fuerbringer / Casey Jennings (6) 21-19, 21-15 (40 mins)
* Nick Lucena / Phil Dalhausser (10) def. Dax Holdern / Jeff Nygaard (2) 21-15, 20-22, 15-12 (57 mins)
Final
* Nick Lucena / Phil Dalhausser def. Jake Gibb / Stein Metzger 19-21, 21-16, 18-16 (78 mins)
Men?s Statistical Leaders
Aces (aces, games played)
1. John Hyden (9, 10)
2. Fred Souza (8, 12)
3. Canyon Ceman (6, 6)
4. Hans Stolfus (6, 10)
5. Eric Fonoimoana (5, 10)
Blocks (blocks, games played)
1. Phil Dalhausser (50, 19)
2. Jake Gibb (32, 12)
3. Matt Fuerbringer (25, 11)
4. Mike Lambert (20, 8)
5. Jeff Nygaard (20, 10)
Digs (digs, games played)
1. Nick Lucena (117, 19)
2. Casey Jennings (73, 11)
3. Stein Metzger (66, 12)
4. Paul Baxter (65, 11)
5. Jim Nichols (58, 8)
Kill Pct. (Kills, Attacks, Games, Pct)
1. Fred Souza (57, 88, 12, .648)
2. Aaron Wachfogel (35, 55, 4, .636)
3. Reid Priddy (42, 67, 6, .627)
4. Scott Lane (55, 88, 6, .625)
5. John Hyden (48, 80, 10, .600)
Next up: The AVP Tour takes a couple week?s off before heading to California, May 20-22, for the AVP Santa Barbara Open.
For more information on the AVP Tour, go to their web site at www.avp.com.