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MEN
May 20, 2007
It's Rogers and Dalhausser again
Hermosa Beach is duo's fourth title in 2007
By Monique Moyal / AVP.com

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. — There's a first time for everything, and Matt
Olson's first trip to the finals was a bittersweet experience.

Olson and Jason Ring partnered up for the No. 4 seed this weekend and fell
to top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, 21-17, 21-12, in the pair's
first final as partners.

"It's a career-best finish," said Olson. "I'm super, super stoked. At first
(I was) a little nervous, but once it kinda all got going, I felt fine. It
was all new to me, but it was great. Although I wouldn't have liked to have
gotten shelled so bad in the second game," he said laughing.

Throughout the weekend, Olson and Ring were playing phenomenally, and
despite their loss, Sunday's final was no exception.

In an earlier match against George Roumain, Ring stuffed block after block
down the court and proved that he could hang with Roumain. That proved to be
extremely useful in preparation for the 6-foot-9 "Thin Beast." Dalhausser
did not end up being too much of an issue for Ring, who closed the deficit
behind some defensive displays of his own in the first game.

"They've only lost to us in the last two tournaments. They've beaten some
good teams to get here, so I expect they'll be around," said Rogers.

Rogers and Olson switched off notching their own kills, but Dalhausser
knocked down a block to bring the first game within reach, with a score of
19-14. Ring answered back with a putaway of his own, followed up by a block
for a score of 19-16. That was all Ring and Olson could come up with in the
first game, as Rogers and Dalhausser made one error to give their opponents
an extra point, yet managed to side out and earn the next two points for the
win.

Game 2 started off neck-and-neck, as both teams took turns scoring points
and siding out to knot up the score. After Rogers and then Dalhausser made
back-to-back kills at 5-3, Olson and Ring tried everything they could just
to play catch-up. Although they only trailed by two for the next few
possessions, Olson and Ring essentially lost control of the game after those
two deadly kills.

"When you're in the finals with a big lead, it's a real comfortable place to
be," said Ring.

When the score reached 9-7, Dalhausser and Rogers went on an eight-point
run, giving themselves total control of the game.

"I think we're still growing, but definitely we hit some peaks, and this
weekend was a peak certainly," said Rogers. "I don't think we're done
getting better."

Ring managed to hold off one matchpoint with a huge block, but it was not
enough to keep Dalhausser and Rogers off of the victors' podium.

Part of the fuel behind Ring and Olson's game this weekend had to do with
their group of followers, cheering on every point.

A handful of men decked out in vintage suits, hats and oversized sunglasses
staked out their own corner of the stands and rang their cowbells in hopes
of inspiring their favorite players.

"It's a tough match up for us," said Olson. "It's the best blocker and the
best defender on the same team."

Karch watch: Karch Kiraly and partner Kevin Wong took their No. 10 seed and
made magic with it in their first tournament back together after Kiraly took
a break from action in the desert last weekend.

In one of their last attempts to enter the semifinals, Kiraly and Wong
handed No. 6 Casey Jennings and Mark Williams a seventh-place finish. Kiraly
certainly gave his followers their money's worth this weekend.

After a 21-13, 19-21, 15-13 victory over the lower-ranked seed, Kiraly and
Wong continued to the last round of contending play. While walking to center
stage for his final match, Kiraly attracted a sizable following to the
stage. And they believed in him, chanting "One more year!"

"I have never seen him without energy, the guy is tireless and he works so
hard," said Wong of his partner. "He trains harder than he plays on the
weekends and the guy's a machine."

They weren't ready to let Kiraly leave Hermosa Beach his last time as a
professional volleyball player. His streak continued into the final round of
the Contender's Bracket, when they took on No. 4 Matt Olson and Jason Ring.

Olson and Ring, however, were on fire all weekend, so there was little
Kiraly/Wong could do to slow them down. The least they could do was make
them work for their semifinals bid. Olson and Ring snuck by with a 21-19,
18-21, 15-12 victory to give Wong and Kiraly a fifth-place finish.

Thunder from down under: Ring had not played in the finals since the 2004
Huntington Beach Open with George Roumain. That was his only final, and the
two went on to take the tournament title.

For a team that claims it likes to be the underdog, this weekend completely
blew that cover, as Olson and Ring reached their highest finish as partners
— with three top-three finishes after only five tournaments this season.

"We call ourselves Team Dream Draw for the other teams," said Ring. "We sit
in the box and tell each other that we're the underdogs. We're probably two
of the shortest guys out here."

During the semifinals, Olson and Ring secured themselves a second-place
finish when they defeated Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert in a three-game
match.


WOMEN
May 20, 2007
AVP's best are champions again
Title gives May-Treanor all-time record
By Mike Scarr / AVP.com

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. — Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh took the scenic
route Sunday, but that included a victory lap along the way.

Instead of advancing through the winner's bracket and enjoying a steady
stream of matches on stadium court, the top women's pair dropped their
Sunday morning match, fell onto the contender's side of the ledger and spent
some time on the outside.

It was a short trip.

Quick work of Paula Roca and Sarah Straton led to a relatively easy
semifinal win and culminated with a 21-15, 21-11 tournament victory over
Rachel Wacholder and Tyra Turner to put May-Treanor atop the women's game.

It was win No. 73 for the reigning, two-time MVP and broke a tie with Holly
McPeak for most titles by a woman in professional beach volleyball. Earning
her 70th title was Walsh, who ranks third all-time.

May-Treanor has been reluctant to talk about the record but took the
microphone in a post-match ceremony that included a video tribute.

"I don't like to be the center of attention unless I'm on the dance floor,"
May-Treanor said afterward. "It was always just about volleyball. Some
people said some nice things about me. I don't know how much they were paid
to say nice things about me, but they did."

Next up is the record that encompasses both men and women and May-Treanor is
halfway there, with Karch Kiraly sitting on 148 titles and in the midst of
his last season on the AVP Tour. While Kiraly's remaining chances are
limited, McPeak has more titles on the agenda.

"I'm still playing and I can still get it back. That is the plan for Logan
Tom and me, but I can take pride in this win," said McPeak, who was
May-Treanor's first partner. "Misty and I grew up on the beach. She is a
great champion for our sport."

For only the third time in the last 55 opens, the women's winner emerged
from the contender's bracket. In fact both finalists endured additional work
Sunday. Turner and Wacholder lost to Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh in
their morning match and had to get past Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson
Jordan to reach the semis.

The pressure of the moment seemed to play a role in the early going as
May-Treanor looked tight and committed uncharacteristic errors. She hit a
ball out and followed with a shot long and, when May-Treanor hit a ball into
the net, she and Walsh trailed 9-6 in the first game.

But they got even at 9-9, and, after a Walsh block tied the score, 11-11,
May-Treanor got involved with three straight points. The pair did not trail
for the remainder of the first set and won on a Wacholder hitting error,
21-15.

"They started out a little bit slow. Misty May, who doesn't make any errors,
made five. That never happens," said McPeak, who served as color commentator
on the television broadcast. "I don't know if it was nerves, but she made
great adjustments."

The second game was essentially done after the third point was scored.

May-Treanor jumped out to a five-point lead before their own total in the
second set reached double figures and extended it to six points, then eight
and eventually 10 at championship point when Walsh put up a block.
May-Treanor then scored the final point of the match on her signature
cross-court cut shot.

"We came out this morning and played really flat," Walsh said. "We should
have won that match but we picked it up at the end of the day. We know we
have it in us, and we know that we can step up and find that fifth gear."

It was the second straight finals appearance for Turner and Wacholder. But
unlike last week in Arizona, when they extended the match to three sets,
Sunday's final was never particularly close.

"We never really got on track today. The first three matches we were down.
We did a great job this afternoon to pull those out," Turner said.

Her partner finished the thought.

"We kind of got in the habit of doing that, and in the final you can't do
that," Wacholder said.

Sending May-Treanor and Walsh to the contender's bracket early Sunday
morning was the powerful duo of Jennifer Boss and April Ross, and, without a
late rally in the first set, it would have been a sweep.

May-Treanor and Walsh fought back from three down to tie the game 19-19 and
twice had game point before a Walsh putaway secured the first game. The
second set was equally tight, with May getting match point at 20-18 on a
kill, but Ross and Boss fought back to extend the set into overtime with
Boss scoring three straight points at the end to win, 24-22.

Boss and Ross controlled the third set from the beginning and coasted to a
15-10 victory with Ross scoring the winner off a Walsh block.

Relegated to an outer court, May-Treanor and Walsh breezed past Paula Roca
and Sarah Straton, 21-15, 21-10, for a return ticket to center stage and a
berth in the semifinals. Playing together for the first time, Straton and
Roca placed fifth.

"I wish we had sided out better; we struggled with that. It's a tough
match-up. Misty and Kerri are always tough," Straton said. "You kinda want
to meet them in the finals, but everyone is beatable. It's frustrating that
we didn't play better."

In their semifinal, May-Treanor and Walsh scored a straight set victory over
Youngs and Branagh. Since defeating them in the semifinals in Miami, Youngs
and Branagh have lost their last three matches against the No. 1 team.

In the other women's semifinal, Turner and Wacholder scored a 21-17, 16-21,
18-16 victory over Boss and Ross to advance to Sunday's final.

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