VOLLEYBALL / SEAL BEACH OPEN : Reno Teams With Opalinski-Harrer Just in Time to Win a Title

Nancy Reno had only a few seconds to savor her first pro beach volleyball victory Sunday when the economic reality of the moment set in.

You win. You buy.

Shortly after accepting her trophy--a beer can encased in plastic--and a check for $5,875, Reno was confronted by Angela Rock, an opponent on the tour.

“You’re buying the beers,” Rock informed Reno.

And Reno didn’t seem to mind after she and new partner Janice Opalinski-Harrer, seeded fourth, defeated 11th-seeded Rita Crockett-Royster and Lisa Strand-Ma’a, 15-10, in the championship match of the $50,000 Seal Beach Open.

“I could live with getting stuck with the bar tab every week,” said Reno, who’s in her second season on the tour. “I think that’s a pretty good problem to have.”

Reno, of Carlsbad, and Opalinski-Harrer, of San Juan Capistrano, finished the two-day, double-elimination tournament with a 6-0 record despite practicing together only three days.

Reno split with partner Cammy Ciarelli this past week to play with Opalinski-Harrer, a five-year tour veteran.

“Cammy’s a great player,” Reno said, “but our downfall was that we were both in just our second year on the tour. I was in search of someone with experience.”

The victory ended a two-year drought for Opalinski-Harrer, who was winless last season but had five second-place finishes. Her last victory was at Japan in 1990 with Strand-Ma’a.

“Last year was the only year I didn’t win a tournament,” Opalinski-Harrer said. “It’s great to be back in the victory circle.”

Opalinski-Harrer’s passing and Reno’s play at the net dominated the championship match, and held off a late comeback by Crockett-Royster and Strand-Ma’a.

Strand-Ma’a had two kills and an ace as a 13-4 deficit was cut to 13-8. An ace by Reno made it 14-8, but Strand-Ma’a and Crockett-Royster fought off five match points before another ace by Reno ended the match.

Crockett-Royster and Strand-Ma’a had only a 20-minute break between the championship match and their 15-13 upset of top-seeded Rock and Karolyn Kirby in the losers’ bracket finals.

It was only the second time in six tournaments this season that Rock and Kirby, the top team on the tour the past two seasons, didn’t reach the finals.

Afterward, Rock was among the first to congratulate Reno. And the first to remind Reno of her beer-tab responsibilities.

“I told Nancy to celebrate for a couple of days,” Opalinski-Harrer said. “Then it’s time to get ready for the next tournament.”

Volleyball Notes

The finals of the Seal Beach Open will be televised on ESPN June 23 at 5 p.m. . . . The next stop on the tour is the $50,000 Las Vegas Shootout at the Flamingo Hilton. Only the top eight teams on the tour are invited to compete.

Huntington Beach’s Cammy Ciarelli and Laguna Beach’s Gayle Stammer finished seventh. They lost in the losers’ bracket quarterfinals, 15-7, to Patty Dodd of Manhattan Beach and Jackie Silva of Redondo Beach.

Results

Championship match: Janice Opalinski-Harrer and Nancy Reno d. Rita Crockett-Royster and Lisa Strand-Ma’a, 15-10.

Winners’ bracket final: Opalinski-Harrer and Reno d. Crockett-Royster and Strand-Ma’a, 16-14.

Losers’ bracket final: Crockett-Royster and Strand-Ma’a d. Karolyn Kirby-Angela Rock, 15-13.

Winners’ bracket semifinals: Crockett-Royster and Strand-Ma’a d. Chisholm-Carrillo and Masakayan, 15-13; Opalinski-Harrer and Reno d. Kirby and Rock, 16-14.