BEACH VOLLEYBALL : Silva, With Help, Comes All the Way Back

After sitting out most of the 1991 pro beach volleyball season because of shoulder and knee injuries, Jackie Silva appears to be back in full force. On Sunday she teamed up with Cammy Ciarelli, a former UCLA All-American, to win the $40,000 Hermosa Beach Open.

Silva, a former Brazilian national team member, is the winningest player in the history of the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn., but her last tournament victory was in September of 1990, with Karolyn Kirby.

Fourth-seeded Silva-Ciarelli came out of the losers’ bracket and forced a double-final against previously undefeated Janice Harrer and Nancy Reno. Silva-Ciarelli beat third-seeded Reno-Harrer, 15-11, then won, 7-3, in the sudden death.

“Today is the happiest day of my life,” Silva said. “I feels so good. Nothing can be better than when you feel a victory. It’s a great taste.”

Silva and Ciarelli played four tough matches en route to the final. They beat top-ranked Kirby and Angela Rock, 18-16, in the winners’ bracket semifinal, then lost, 15-12, to Harrer-Reno in the winners’ bracket final. They earned a spot in the double-elimination tournament final by defeating second-seeded Linda Carrillo and Liz Masakayan, 15-10, in the losers’ bracket final.

“It’s wonderful and it’s a dream come true,” Ciarelli said of her first tournament victory. “To play with Jackie Silva is just icing on the cake. Every players’ dream in the world is to play with Jackie Silva.”

Ciarelli, a 30-year-old mother of two, and Silva, 30, will split $9,400. Harrer and Reno will divide $7.000.

Kirby and Rock, who have won a WPVA record 16 tournaments together, had their worst finish (fifth) since teaming up last year. After losing to Silva-Ciarelli, they were upset, 15-10, by seventh-seeded Barbara Fontana and Deb Richardson in the losers’ bracket. Kirby-Rock have won four of nine events this year and reached the final in two others.