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May 26, 2008

Dalhausser, Rogers win again
Top seeds remain unbeaten during open play
By Josh Cook / Special to avp.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers made it 5-for-5.

Top seeds Dalhausser and Rogers rallied from deficits in the first and third
games to beat No. 2 seed John Hyden and Brad Keenan 22-20, 17-21, 15-13 on
Monday afternoon in the men's final of the AVP Crocs Tour stop in Louisville.

It was the fifth AVP Crocs Tour win this season in as many tournaments for
Dalhausser and Rogers, and the second straight title in Louisville for the
dynamic duo.

Dalhausser and Rogers scored the final three points of the third game to improve
to 25-0 this year in AVP Crocs Tour events.

"At the end of the game we pretty much clutched up and made some big plays,"
said Rogers, who had 30 kills and four digs in the final despite battling the
flu this weekend too. Rogers and Dalhausser trailed 12-10 late in the third
game, but Rogers followed up a cross-court kill with his only ace of the match
to tie the score at 12.

"I'd like to thank Todd for that ace," Dalhausser said as he addressed the
stadium crowd after the match.

"I was kind of pissed off we were struggling, so I told myself to go back and
hammer that serve," Rogers recalled afterwards.

And though Hyden and Keenan scored the next point, Rogers' ace sparked the
tournament's top seeds. Rogers tied the game at 13, then Dalhausser blocked
Hyden to make it 14-13.

Dalhausser's subsequent serve bounced off the net cord, forcing Keenan to
stumble and making him unable to try to block Dalhausser's match-clinching
spike.

"We had a chance to win, but you can't make any mistakes against that team,"
Keenan said.

"You have to sideout about 98 percent of the time and you can't make any
mistakes against them because they'll shove it down your throat."

Hyden and Keenan had beaten Dalhausser and Rogers in three games May 4 in the
semifinals of the Cuervo Gold Crown Championships in Huntington Beach, Calif.
and they employed their same strategy from that match -- going at Rogers -- in
this match too.

The first game featured 14 ties. Dalhausser and Rogers surged ahead 16-14, but
Hyden and Keenan reeled off four straight points -- thanks in large part to
back-to-back aces by Keenan.

But Dalhausser and Rogers rallied to tie the score at 19, then 20 before a net
violation on Keenan gave the top seeds a 21-20 lead. Rogers closed out the game
with a kill down the line, his 12th of the game.

In the second game, Dalhausser and Rogers ran out to a 7-3 lead, but Hyden and
Keenan fought back. Trailing 9-7, they scored six straight points sparked by
Keenan's blocking, to take a 13-9 lead. The No. 2 seeds held Dalhausser and
Rogers at bay the rest of the way in the game.

The third game featured nine ties, the final at 13-all because Dalhausser and
Rogers closed out the match to become the first team to win the first five
events of the season since Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos won the first six in
1988.

Dalhausser finished the match with 12 kills in 12 attempts, three blocks and two
aces. Keenan, who was trying to win his first AVP title, had 23 kills, four
blocks and five aces, while Hyden had 10 kills and six digs.

In the semifinals: Dalhausser and Rogers were pushed in the first game by the
No. 3 seeds, Nick Lucena and Sean Scott, before they prevailed 24-22, 21-12.
Rogers had 19 kills and four digs, while Dalhausser added 11 kills and eight
blocks. Scott had 17 kills and Lucena seven digs in a losing effort.

In the other semifinal, Hyden and Keenan bested the sixth seeds, Matt Olson and
Kevin Wong, 21-19, 21-14. It was a revenge win for Hyden and Keenan after Olson
and Wong had beaten them in two games in April at the Dallas Open. Keenan had 17
kills and three blocks, while Hyden added 12 kills and 10 digs. Olson had 17
kills in a losing effort.

In the contender's bracket: Lucena and Scott knocked off John Mayer and Jeff
Nygaard -- the only double-digit seeds left in the tournament at 12 -- 21-15,
21-18 while Olson and Wong upended the No. 4 seeds Anthony Medel and Fred Souza
21-19, 21-14 to advance to the semifinals for the second straight week.

The AVP Crocs Tour heads to Atlanta this coming weekend.

---
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