Frohoff Serves Up a Victory With Kiraly

Beach volleyball in recent years has been dominated by the team of Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, but parity finally appears to be making inroads on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals’ tour.

That was apparent Sunday when Smith-Stoklos, champions of the sport for the last three years, were ousted in the quarterfinals of the Venice Open by Craig Moothart and Steve Obradovich, ranked 21st and 23rd respectively.

It became further apparent when Mike Dodd and Tim Hovland, who in past years have been second only to Smith-Stoklos, were beaten handily in the championship round by Olympian Karch Kiraly and Brent Frohoff.

“There’s definitely more parity because of increased television exposure, more prize money and the influx of more teams,” Smith, the tour’s all-time leading money winner, said. “There are a lot more players out there now who like to play on the beach.”

Kiraly and Frohoff played smoothly Sunday. Frohoff’s thunderous jump serve coupled with Kiraly’s diving digs and nicely placed sets helped them open a 7-0 lead. They won easily, 15-3, before a few thousand spectators under a sunny sky at Venice Beach.

“His (Frohoff) serve was the key,” Kiraly acknowledged. “He created a lot of bad passes.”

Said Frohoff: “The ball looked like a pumpkin--it would just sit up there and I felt I could hit it as hard as I could.”

Asked if he is comfortable on sand after a lengthy layoff because of commitments as captain of the two-time gold medal-winning U.S. national team, Kiraly admitted that adjusting to the sand takes time.

“It doesn’t always make sense to hit the ball hard here,” he said.

Dodd and Hovland, who had trouble in the semifinals before outlasting Obradovich-Moothart in a 19-17 marathon victory, appeared rattled from the start by the precision teamwork of Kiraly-Frohoff. On more than one instance they got their signals crossed, letting the ball drop between them.

Kiraly and Frohoff split $17,250.

Smith and Stoklos, who with four tour victories in 10 events this season still are atop the rest of the field, but are behind their torrid pace set last season when they won the first six events and finished with 10 victories.

Dodd and Hovland have won three this season and Kiraly and Frohoff, who won the opening event at Ft, Myers, Fla., in March, have two.