Volleyball at Seal Beach : Smith and Stoklos Survive Preliminaries : Despite Being Slowed By Ankle Injury, Top-Seeded Players Advance

Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, the top-seeded team, cleared a big hurdle Saturday at the Seal Beach Open volleyball tournament--even though it was just the preliminary round.

Stoklos, shaking off an injury, teamed with Smith to win three times and advance to the quarterfinals today against Jon Stevenson and Kent Steffes.

“I’m just happy to make it through the day without losing, because Randy sprained his ankle and I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Smith, 32, of Pacific Palisades, who could earn his 102nd open title with a victory today. “There was no plan B (if Stoklos wasn’t able to play),” he said.

Stoklos, 28, of Pacific Palisades, who wore a brace around a tightly taped ankle, played well enough through a stiff breeze to help the pair escape the prelims with a 15-7 victory over Steve Obradovich, of El Segundo, and Craig Moothart, of Irvine.

“It was difficult because of that (injury) and the wind because it neutralizes teams,” Smith said. “It (wind) changes the game and any team can win. When there’s wind, it’s worry time.”

That was the case for the second-seeded team of Tim Hovland and Mike Dodd, both of El Segundo.

They lost Saturday and must work through the losers’ bracket today if they are to successfully defend their Seal Beach Open title.

“We’ve really put ourselves in a horrendous spot,” Dodd said.

But his partner was not willing to concede. “We’re not out of this tourney yet,” Hovland said, “We’ve got a full day of work ahead of us.”

Seventh-seeded Leif Hanson, of Laguna Beach, and Jay Hanseth, of Santa Barbara, knocked off Hovland and Dodd. They also beat Hovland and Dodd in May at the Venice Beach tournament.

“We got on them early and that made them play off their game,” Hanseth said. “When Leif (Hanson) started digging their shots, they had to hit closer to my blocks.”

“It has to be considered an upset,” Hanseth said of the victory, “but when you’ve done it before, it’s not like an unseeded team coming in and knocking them off.”

Not coincidentally, the sixth-seeded team of Scott Friederichsen, of Laguna Beach, and Larry Mear, of San Clemente, defeated the third-seeded team of John Hanley, of Santa Barbara, and Brent Frohoff, of Hermosa Beach, 15-9, to advance into the quarterfinals against Hanseth and Hanson.

“We both know we’re two evenly matched teams,” Hanseth said of today’s match with Friederichsen and Mear, “so if we play well, we have a shot to make the finals.”