Ross, partner still dangerous
LONG BEACH — Kerri Walsh Jennings said Wednesday that she could not put a percentage on the extent of her physical capabilities after missing just more than a month with a dislocated shoulder. But despite an inability to swing fully with her right hitting/serving arm, she wasn’t about to accept any competitive limitations on the first day of pool play at the World Series of Beach Volleyball at Alamitos Beach.
“I feel healthy out there,” said the three-time Olympic gold medalist who has reunited with Costa Mesa resident April Ross after Ross won the last two weekends on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour with Costa Mesa resident Jennifer Fopma. “I don’t feel diminished.”
Still, serving underhanded and unable to blast away with her dominant arm at the net, Walsh Jennings, who turned 37 on Saturday, is relying more on finesse than firepower in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball Grand Slam event that has qualifying ramifications for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I was so nervous,” Walsh Jennings said of the No. 8-seeded duo’s 21-15, 21-18 conquest of No. 25-seeded Germans Victoria Bieneck and Julia Grossner to open play in Pool H. “I mean it’s so much different training than playing. I’ve been training with April for two weeks, but this is the best competition in the world. I was really nervous but that was fun. I think we found our rhythm pretty early, which was nice.”
Walsh Jennings and Ross, the defending champions at the Long Beach event, went on to defeat the No. 24-seeded Brazilian tandem of Carolina Horta Maximo and Liliane Simoes Maestrini, 21-12, 21-10, in their second pool-play match of the day.
Walsh Jennings, who had 10 stuff blocks on the day, resorted to tips, roll shots and poke shots to challenge opposing blockers, and even swung at a handful of sets with her left arm. She also set Ross more frequently with her initial pass, allowing Ross to hit “on two,” rather than set Walsh Jennings for a third contact.
“Nothing was premeditated except for my serve,” Walsh Jennings said. “I’m not going to overhand serve. The lefty — I just do it when I feel it. We’re going to figure it out.
“Our goal is not to force anything. We want to use [going over on two] more, because [Ross] is so effective and we’re capable of doing that,” Walsh Jennings said. “I just feel like we’re going to take what we get.”
Ross, who had eight aces in the two matches, said she felt playing again alongside Walsh Jennings was virtually seamless.
“That’s our first time [competing since Walsh Jennings’ return],” Ross said. “I think we learned a few things, for sure, and we’ll make adjustments in our next match. But it was really good to get that win and see how we need to adjust to do better in the next round.
“It feels great,” Ross said. “It feels super natural to be back on the court [with Walsh Jennings]. We’re just working in our current situation, and the [injury] factor that we’re dealing with.”
Walsh Jennings said she got some advice about how to approach her return.
“I literally have no idea,” Walsh Jennings said when asked about the relative percentage of her strength and physical health. “But I feel like I have a lot in me. [Not swinging at the net] is what I’ve been doing. I just have to play smart. I just talked to the best in the history of the sport, Karch Kiraly, and he has been in this situation. He said ‘Kerri, I knew I couldn’t hit and I just made it a fun challenge. I used my partner.’ It was so cool to hear that from him. This is fun. It’s going to make me better. It’s going to make us better. I really believe that. I already feel it. It’s just adding tools for us and a different rhythm that we know we can go to if we get in trouble.”
Added Ross: “I have no premeditated expectations. We’re going to get out there and we’re going to be us as we are. We are going to be big and go after it and see what happens. I think we have a lot of potential this way.”
Fopma and Brittany Hochevar, seeded No. 26, defeated No. 7-seeded Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy of Australia, 21-16, 21-19, in their Pool G opener.
Fopma and Hochevar then lost the No. 10-seeded Brazilian pair of Carolina Salgado and Maria Clara Salgado, 21-18, 21-23, 15-9, in the second round of pool play.
Pool play concludes on Thursday, with the elimination round opening on Friday. The women’s quarterfinals and semifinals are Saturday, with the bronze- and gold-medal women’s matches set for Sunday.