FULL DETAILS @ http://Volleyball.ORG/

June 16, 2007
Williams a matchtime decision Sunday
Aussie questionable with strained left ankle
By Mike Scarr / AVP.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. — For Casey Jennings and Mark Williams to get to the final
four, they'll have to channel Willis Reed.

Williams suffered a strain to his left ankle in the second set of his match
against Fred Souza and Anthony Medel Saturday afternoon but persevered
through a tough third set to advance.

In the 1970 NBA Finals, Reed hauled his body and a torn right-thigh muscle
onto the court for the Knicks' opening tip against the Lakers in Game 7.
While Reed only scored four points in limited action, he provided
inspiration as the Knicks won the title.

Williams and Jennings will face Karch Kiraly and Kevin Wong with a berth in
the semifinals on the line at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. The pair will wait until
just prior to matchtime to decide whether or not to play. They're hoping
that ice and Advil will do the trick.

"We're not looking for a bye unless Mark, for some reason it swells up and
he doesn't want to play," Jennings said. "I'll support that decision."

Already earning a berth in the men's semifinal are Todd Rogers and Phil
Dalhausser, who defeated Kiraly and Wong in the last match on Saturday
night. Dalhausser-Rogers will wait for the winner of the Sean Rosenthal-Jake
Gibb and Brad Keenan-John Hyden match.

On target for their second title of the season are No. 4 Mike Lambert and
Stein Metzger.

In a rematch of last week's final in Atlanta, Metzger and Lambert avenged
their loss to Gibb and Rosenthal by upsetting the No. 1 seed to gain a slot
in the semifinals, where they'll await the winner of the match between
Jennings-Williams and Kiraly-Wong.

On the women's side, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh are looking for some
momentum to propel them into the next two weeks when international play will
hold court as part of the Olympic qualifying process.

As the winners of the first AVP event of the year in Miami, they are the
only women's team this season to win a tournament other than Misty
May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

A thrilling, three-set match victory over Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder
on Saturday afternoon vaulted Youngs and Branagh into the semifinals, where
they will play the winner of the Holly McPeak-Logan Tom and Jenny Johnson
Jordan-Annett Davis match.

"Right now, we don't care who we play — we just want to keep our game
smooth, play aggressive and keep the errors down," Youngs said.

Also with a berth in the semifinals is the No. 1 women's team, and that's no
surprise.

May-Treanor and Walsh have appeared in every final four to start the year
and made it a clean 9-for-9 in the first half of the year with a victory
over Holly McPeak and Logan Tom on Saturday.

May-Treanor and Walsh have won seven consecutive titles this season and 20
of the last 23 team events on the AVP Crocs Tour. They'll be going for eight
straight Sunday and will face the winner of the Turner-Wacholder and
Jennifer Boss-April Boss match.

Turner and Wacholder are without a title this season, but they've been to
three finals, including last week in Atlanta. Each time they've lost to
May-Treanor and Walsh, and they sport an 0-6 overall mark against them this
season.

Boss and Ross have been to three final fours this season, including the
Miami final.
---

Saturday's highlights: The weather cleared and the playing surfaces heated
and hardened. Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh, and Misty May-Treanor and
Kerri Walsh advanced to the semifinals on the women's side while Mike
Lambert and Stein Metzger, and Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser advanced to
the semifinals from the men's side of the draw.

Match of the day: Casey Jennings and Mark Williams upended Fred Souza and
Anthony Medel, 21-14, 17-21, 16-14, in a match that provided a remarkable
finish. Williams injured his left ankle in the second set, and was helped
off, but returned with the ankle heavily taped and he and Jennings rallied
to victory.

Upset of the day: Aaron Wachtfogel and Scott Wong eliminated Matt Olson and
Jason Ring with a 17-21, 21-19, 17-15 victory in the contender's bracket.

Karch watch: Kiraly and partner Kevin Wong lost to Dalhausser and Rogers but
may be in the semifinals anyway. Their opponent is Jennings-Williams, but
Williams' ankle injury may prevent him from playing.

Start/finish: Play will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday with the women's
final set for 2:30 p.m. and the men's final to follow at approximately 4:00
p.m.

Weather forecast: A high of 88 is expected Sunday with isolated
thunderstorms projected to develop by afternoon with a 30 percent chance of
rain. Wind will be out of the southwest at 11 mph.

Match to watch: Rachel Wacholder and Tyra Turner against April Ross and
Jennifer Boss with a semifinal berth hanging in the balance.

---
Volleyball World Wide
http://Volleyball.ORG/
Since 1994, the oldest, and largest, internet site dedicated to the sport of
volleyball.