Pro Spiker Got an Unusual View of Ex-Partner’s Aces

Linda Chisholm-Carrillo had a better view last year when she could watch the jump serves of teammate Jackie Silva play havoc with the unfortunates on the other side of the net.

But partnerships in women’s pro beach volleyball can be fleeting. And so can success.

All Chisholm-Carrillo could do was joke about it Sunday after Silva and her current partner, Patty Dodd, buried Chisholm-Carrillo and Janice Opalinski, 15-3, to win the Hermosa Beach Open.

“Jackie must be getting $100 for every ace,” the 6-foot-2 former Olympian said of her former partner.

In light of the $1,890 apiece Dodd and Silva won for their eighth victory in nine tournaments this season, Chisholm-Carrillo’s appraisal fell a few dollars short.

“Today her serve was on,” said Dodd of her teammate’s five-ace performance. “The best defense is a great serve. It gets (he other team) out of place and out of their game.”

Silva, the Brazilian heralded as the best player on the women’s tour, also had several key spikes, played tenacious defense and consistently gave Dodd flawless sets. Combined with Dodd’s strong hitting and defense, the pair were unstoppable throughout the two-day event north of Hermosa Beach Pier.

So much so that Dodd, asked to name the most difficult match they played in the tournament, could think of nothing more taxing than a 15-7 rout of Judy Bellamo and Lisa Strand early in the day.

They certainly had no problem with Chisholm-Carrillo and Opalinski. In the winners bracket final, Dodd and Silva won 15-5 to gain a spot in the finals. Then as Chisholm-Carrillo and Opalinski toiled against Nina Matthies and Elaine Roque in the consolation game--they won 15-9 to gain a rematch for the tournament championship--Dodd and Silva sipped margaritas.

“Without the tequila,” Dodd clarified.

What followed was devastation for the third-seeded team of Chisholm-Carrillo and Opalinski. Dodd and Silva streaked ahead 5-0, getting the last two points on Silva jump-serve aces.

Chisholm-Carrillo spiked one home shortly thereafter for the only point the losers would score that did not come on a Silva-Dodd error. A bad pass by Dodd narrowed the score to 5-2.

But soon the lead was back to five. Dodd made a lunging save, Silva an off-balance set and Dodd a scoring spike to make it 7-2. Then a Silva jump serve hit the back line for another ace and an 8-2 lead.

“When it was 8-2,” Dodd said, “we pretty much had the momentum.”

The score moved to 8-3, but a three-point run with Dodd serving put the game out of reach. A Dodd spike made it 9-3, a Silva save and spike made it 10-3, then Silva added a scoring block on a hit by the much-taller Chisholm-Carrillo and it was 11-3.

The game ended on a thrilling rally during which Silva, Opalinski and Dodd made diving digs. It was culminated when Silva made a perfect set while sprawled in the sand and Dodd drilled home the winning spike.

“They just had a great rhythm,” Opalinski said. “The way to beat them is to take them out of their rhythm. Then they start making mistakes and getting frustrated and the tension builds.

“But when Jackie’s serve is on, there’s nothing you can do.”

Silva has been credited with bringing the jump serve to the women’s game. Used extensively indoors and by a growing number of players on the men’s beach circuit, the serve comes over the net with the speed and trajectory of a spike, immediately putting the opposition on defense.

Chisholm-Carrillo and Opalinski also use the technique, but the quickness and passing ability of Dodd and Silva kept it from being a factor Sunday.

So the questions came up again: Do they have a weakness? Can they be beaten?

“There’s a way to beat them,” Opalinski said. “We don’t just go out there and hope they make mistakes. You can serve tough. Mix up the blocking and the coverage behind. Take them out of their game.

“There’s a lot we can do. We made the finals of this tournament. We’ll try again next time.”

Meanwhile, Dodd and Silva know they’re marked women.

“The pressure is on us,” Dodd said. “They’re all out to beat us. But we’re taking each game one at a time, from the first round to the finals.”