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April 22, 2007

Top women back where they belong
May-Treanor, Walsh gain revenge in Big D

By Robert Falkoff / AVP.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are tough enough under
normal circumstances. When they're using revenge to fuel their motivation,
the rest of the AVP Tour on the women's side is advised to take cover.

Stung by last week's semifinal loss in Miami, May-Treanor and Walsh blew
into Texas on a mission to show they are still the standard by which to be
measured on the AVP Tour.

Mission accomplished. May-Treanor and Walsh had all the answers Sunday in
charging past Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, 21-14, 21-19, to win the
Dallas Open. Whatever Branagh and Youngs did, May-Treanor and Walsh did
better. The No. 1 seed was out to show that last week was an aberration, and
the championship match crowd that watched May-Treanor and Walsh play
ultra-sharp volleyball will vouch for the fact that they know how to rebound
with a flourish.

"I think we were a lot more patient this weekend," Walsh said. "We passed
well and did all the fundamentals. Even if we got down or the other team
scored a run of points, we stayed steady."

That was certainly the case in Game 2 of the championship match. After
controlling Game 1 throughout and jumping ahead 16-11 in Game 2, May-Treanor
and Walsh saw Branagh and Youngs ring up five in a row to tie the score. But
May-Treanor scored down the line to stop the run. Leading 20-19 moments
later, May-Treanor delivered a kill to seal the title.

Walsh did not feel she was on top of her game in Miami when Branagh and
Youngs stole the show. But the Dallas Open had a distinctly different
script.

"They were serving me (in Miami) and I know that physically I'm capable,"
Walsh said. "But mentally, I was a little tentative and a little insecure.
When it's mental, there's no excuse for that. This weekend was a whole new
story. We learned."

May-Treanor and Walsh had six aces in the championship match, while Branagh
and Young, who have the two highest per-game averages for aces, had only
two.

"We were aggressive and kept them on their heels," May-Treanor said.

It was a pleasant weekend in the Metroplex for May-Treanor and Walsh all the
way around. They threw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers-Oakland A's
game on Friday night and then took more bows while brushing aside the AVP
field on Saturday and Sunday.

May-Treanor and Walsh haven't gone consecutive tournaments on the AVP tour
without a victory since 2004 when they finished third in Manhattan Beach and
then second in Hermosa Beach.

When the AVP Tour resumes in Huntington Beach the weekend of May 3-6, Youngs
and Branagh will switch to revenge mode, and May-Treanor and Walsh will be
looking to use the Dallas Open as a springboard.

"Our team rhythm both on offense and defense was on today," Walsh said.
"This game is so much about rhythm and timing. Misty played unbelievable
defense."

Branagh played with a heavily taped right ankle after suffering a sprain on
Saturday.

"I wasn't jumping my highest, but I was doing the best I can," she said.

With each of Sunday's championship competitors now having one victory
through the opening two weeks of the Tour, Youngs thinks a special rivalry
might be brewing.

"It has only been two events, but I think it's in the making," Youngs said.
"It's the future of beach volleyball on the women's side. You've got four
big girls, because I consider Misty to be a big girl. She can hit the ball
and, at 5-10, she jumps well."

Branagh figures her ankle will be 100 percent at Huntington Beach. But the
question is whether May-Treanor and Walsh can be stopped by Youngs/Branagh
or anybody else now that May-Treanor and Walsh have hit their stride on the
2007 Tour.

"Now, we're on another mission," May-Treanor said. "We need to win the next
one."

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