WOMEN’S PRO VOLLEYBALL / HUNTINGTON BEACH OPEN : Kirby-Dodd Upset Silva-Opalinski in Final

Don’t fault Karolyn Kirby for stumbling a little with her victory speech after she and partner Patty Dodd won the Huntington Beach Open pro beach volleyball tournament.

“The TV crew was asking me all kinds of questions and I wasn’t sure what to say,” Kirby said.

Kirby may have been at a loss for words, but she and Dodd had no trouble upsetting top-seeded Jackie Silva and Janice Opalinski, 15-6, in the final at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Dodd and Kirby, seeded second, became the only team other than Silva and Opalinski to win a tournament this season. Silva and Opalinski entered the final with a five-tournament victory streak.

It also was the first pro beach championship for Kirby, who is in her third year on the tour. Dodd won the Huntington Beach Open with Silva last year.

“I’m so totally psyched,” Kirby said. “I think people were getting tired of seeing the same team winning.

“We wanted to beat the best team in the finals and we did. This is sweet.”

Kirby, who lives in San Diego, and Dodd, of El Segundo, earned $3,000 each for the victory. Silva of Redondo Beach and Opalinski of San Juan Capistrano won $2,250 each.

“What makes this so special was that (Kirby) got her first win on the tour,” said Dodd, who won 13 of 16 tournaments last year with Silva. “I hope it’s the first of many wins.”

Kirby and Dodd also beat Silva and Opalinski, 15-8, earlier Sunday in the winner’s bracket final of the double-elimination tournament. Kirby and Dodd rallied from an 8-5 deficit, scoring 10 consecutive points.

They won the final in similar fashion, breaking a 5-5 tie with an 8-0 run. Kirby finished with 12 kills and Dodd had 11.

The loss was a difficult one for Opalinski and Silva, who formed their partnership in April, two weeks before the start of the season.

“I sit here and I wonder how it feels,” Opalinski said. “We would’ve liked to keep it (the win streak) going, but this will motivate me to come back and play well next week.”

Silva agreed. “It’s good for us to lose,” she said. “Now we’ll take a step back and think about our mistakes.”

One of their problems was serving. Usually one of the top serving teams on the tour, Silva and Opalinski struggled with 10 service errors and had only one ace in the final.

“It just wasn’t there for us,” Opalinski said.

It was for Dodd and Kirby, who had two aces each.

“We knew we had to serve them well because they’re both such great ball-control players,” Kirby said.

She and Dodd have had ample time to work on their game plan against Silva and Opalinski.

This was the fourth time in six tour stops the teams have met in the finals. Kirby and Dodd finished second in three previous tournaments this year and third in two others.

“We didn’t have our focus the first few times we met in the finals,” Kirby said. “Patty and I were nervous and we were still getting to know each other.

“The difference today was this was the first time we came in thinking we had a chance to win.”

And now, if they can just work on that victory speech. . . .