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- Beach was jumping at AVP Santa Barbara Open
Beach was jumping at AVP Santa Barbara Open
- By Rick Capone
- Published 05/25/2005
- Volleyball
- Unrated
There was a lot of great action to watch on both the women?s and men?s side of the tour, which delighted all who came out to enjoy the tournament.
For the women, the No. 1 team of Misty May and Kerri Walsh continued to dominate the tour, defeating all of their opponents and cruising to their fourth AVP tournament title in a row.
On the men?s side, Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard played in their third final of the year, this time coming away with the title, their first of the 2005 season.
Here are how things went in Santa Barbara this past weekend.
AVP Tempe Open Tournament
Tempe, Arizona
Friday-Sunday, April 22-24, 2005
AVP Women
The story on the women?s side of the tour is still the same ? can anyone stop May and Walsh.
This time around, it was Jennifer Kessy and Holly McPeak who made it to the final to try and dethrone them. They reached the final by going undefeated throughout the tournament, however, they did have a few close calls.
On Saturday, they were stretched to three games by Jenelle Koester and Ali Wood, but they finally put them away 21-16, 25-27 and 15-10. Then on Sunday, they faced the very tough team of Rachel Wacholder and Elaine Youngs, McPeak's former partner. Wacholder and Youngs had beaten them two out of three times so far this season, and Kessy and McPeak definitely had their hands full, but finally defeated them 25-23, 13-21 and 15-11 to move on to the semifinals.
Still carrying the momentum of their match over Wacholder and Youngs with them, they had an easier time of it in the semifinals, defeating Dianne DeNecochea and Nancy Mason 21-18 and 21-16 to advance to the final.
Meanwhile, May and Walsh cruised through the tournament, easily winning all of their matches to reach the final as well.
In the final, Kessy and McPeak were not able to find the rhythm they had established in their previous two matches, while May and Walsh were "clicking on all cylinders." In the end, May and Walsh prevailed 21-12 and 21-14, to remain undefeated this season.
Here are the top finishers and stats from the women?s division.
Women?s Top Finishers in Tempe
1. Misty May / Kerri Walsh, $20,000
2. Jennifer Kessy / Holly McPeak, 14,000
3. Rachel Wacholder / Elaine Youngs, $8,450
3. Dianne DeNecochea / Nancy Mason, $8,450
5. Tyra Turner / Makare Wilson, $5,000
5. Samicmes Marins / Tatiana Minello, $5,000
7. Carrie Busch / Liz Masakayan, $3,500
7. Angie Akers / Nicole Branagh, $3,500
9. Pat Keller / Wendy Stammer, $2,200
9. Tanya Fuamatu / Heidi Illustre, $2,200
9. Heather Lowe / Jenny Pavley, $2,200
9. Angela Lewis / Diane Pascua, $2,200
Semifinals
* Misty May / Kerri Walsh (No. 1 seed) def. Rachel Wacholder / Elaine Youngs (2) 21-15, 21-12 (45 mins)
* Jennifer Kessy / Holly McPeak (3) def. Dianne DeNecochea / Nancy Mason (4) 21-18, 21-16 (43 mins)
Final
* May / Walsh def. Kessy / McPeak 21-12, 21-14 (42 mins)
Women?s Statistical Leaders
Aces (aces, games played)
1. Liz Masakayan (15, 14)
2. Tatiana Minello (11, 13)
3. Holly McPeak (9, 14)
4. Paula Roca (9, 10)
5. Nancy Mason (8, 13)
Blocks (blocks, games played)
1. Kerri Walsh (27, 12)
2. Dianne DeNecochea (20, 13)
3. Elaine Youngs (19, 14)
4. Tyra Turner (16, 13)
5. Jennifer Kessy (14, 14)
Digs (digs, games played)
1. Holly McPeak (79, 14)
2. Rachel Wacholder (79, 14)
3. Nancy Mason (66, 13)
4. Diane Pascua (66, 12)
5. Misty May 63, 12)
Kill Pct. (Kills, Attacks, Games, Pct)
1. Misty May (104, 144, 12, .722)
2. Kerri Walsh (82, 116, 12, .707)
3. Brook Niles (82, 116, 8, .620)
4. Jamie Lee (60, 100, 10, .600)
5. Ali Wood (50, 84, 8, .595)
AVP Men
On the men?s side, two-time winners and No. 1 seeded Jake Gibb and Stein Metzger looked like the team to beat, even though they lost their third match on Saturday and had to work their way through the consolation bracket.
Still, even with the loss, they were playing some good volleyball. In fact, the loss was a good wake up call for the duo, as they refocused their play and won their next two matches to reach the semifinals, where they would face Rogers and Scott.
Ninth-seeded Rogers and Scott, meanwhile, were quietly having their best tournament of the year, as they went undefeated through the weekend of play to reach their first semifinals of 2005.
In the semifinals, Rogers and Scott came out on fire and surprised Gibb and Metzger with how well they were playing. In a 52-minute semifinal, Rogers and Scott upset Gibb and Metzger 21-19 and 21-14 to reach their first final of the year.
On the other side of the draw. Holdren and Nygaard were also having a good weekend of play. Having already played in, and lost, two finals this year, they seemed more determined than ever to finally win a title. Playing hard all weekend long, which included a couple three-game, drag out battles against Matt Olson and Hans Stolfus, and Larry Witt and Sean Rosenthal, Holdren and Nygaard went undefeated to reach the semifinals.
In the semifinal they would face Paul Baxter and Jason Ring. Baxter and Ring took the long road to the semifinals. After winning their first match on Saturday, they ran into Rogers and Scott, who defeated them in two games and sent them down to the consolation bracket.
In the consolation bracket, they fought their way through five matches, including a stretch of three matches that went three games and over one hour a piece on Sunday. In the first one of those three-gamers, they defeated Mark Williams and Scott Wong 20-22, 29-27 and 15-13. They followed that up with a one hour, 17-21, 21-17 and15-10 win over Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena, the team that had one their first event in Austin a few weeks earlier. Finally, they defeated Aaron Boss and Brian Lewis 13-21, 21-19 and 15-12 in an hour and six minutes, to reach the final.
Three marathon matches in a row later, Baxter and Ring had reached the semifinals, but would they have enough energy left to play.
In the end, Holdren and Nygaard had all the answers, as they defeated Baxter and Ring in two games, 21-19 and 21-12, to reach the championship match.
The final turned into one of those AVP Classics, as both teams were determined to win the title. In the end, it was Holdren and Nygaard who defeated Rogers and Scott in another marathon match that had the fans standing and cheering the entire time. In the end, after one hour and 20 minutes of excellent play, Holdren and Rogers won 21-19, 19-21 and 15-9.
Men's Top Finishers in Tempe
1. Dax Holdren / Jeff Nygaard, $20,000
2. Todd Rogers / Sean Scott, $14,000
3. Jake Gibb / Stein Metzger, $8,450
3. Paul Baxter / Jason Ring, $8,450
5. Eric Fonoimoana / Mike Lambert, $5,000
5. Aaron Boss / Brian Lewis, $5,000
7. Phil Dalhausser / Nick Lucena, $3,500
7. Matt Fuerbringer / Casey Jennings, $3,500
9. Sean Rosenthal / Larry Witt, $2,200
9. Mark Williams / Scott Wong, $2,200
9. Matt Olson / Hans Stolfus, $2,200
9. Anthony Mihalic / Chad Mowrey, $2,200
Semifinals
* Todd Rogers / Sean Scott (No. 9 seed) def. Jake Gibb / Stein Metzger (1) 21-19, 21-14 (52 mins)
* Dax Holdren / Jeff Nygaard (2) def. Paul Baxter / Jason Ring (8) 21-19, 21-12 (42 mins)
Final
* Holdren / Nygaard def. Rogers / Scott 21-19, 19-21, 15-19 (80 mins)
Men?s Statistical Leaders
Aces (aces, games played)
1. Brian Lewis (10, 13)
2. Dain Blanton (7, 9)
3. Albert Hannemann (7, 8)
4. Sean Scott (7, 13)
5. Scott Davenport (6, 7(
Blocks (blocks, games played)
1. Jake Gibb (37, 16)
2. Sean Scott (32, 13)
3. Phil Dalhausser (30, 15)
4. Jeff Nygaard (29, 15)
5. Mike Lambert (26, 12)
Digs (digs, games played)
1. Stein Metzger (77, 16)
2. Paul Baxter (64, 19)
3. Dax Holdren (64, 15)
4. Casey Jennings (62, 12)
5. Nick Lucena (59, 15)
Kill Pct. (Kills, Attacks, Games, Pct)
1. Matt Fuerbringer (16, 95, 12, .795)
2. Phil Dalhausser (86, 124, 15, .694)
3. Matt Prosser (16, 24, 4, .667)
4. Jeff Nygaard (121, 182, 15, .665)
5. John Moran (53, 80, 7, .663)
Next Up: The AVP Tour heads to San Diego in two weeks, June 10-12. The event will be held at Mariner?s Point. If you?re in the area, be sure to check out the beach volleyball action their all weekend long.
For more information on the AVP Tour, go to the AVP web site at www.avp.com .