Whitmarsh, Dodd Halt Streak of Kiraly, Steffes

Hey, Shaq, you missed the best part, dude.

Shaquille O’Neal, the Orlando Magic center who sat courtside at the $150,000 Miller Lite Open beach volleyball tournament here Sunday, left with top-seeded Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes holding a comfortable 11-9 lead over Mike Whitmarsh and Mike Dodd.

But third-seeded Whitmarsh and Dodd rallied in the final one minute 48 seconds for a 14-11 victory in front of an overflow crowd of 10,000.

Their victory ended Kiraly and Steffes’ six-tournament winning streak and kept Kiraly winless at Seal Beach in the tournament’s 10-year history. Dodd and Whitmarsh split $30,000 in first-place prize money.

“Shaq missed the best part by far,” said Dodd, who won his fourth Seal Beach title. “There were some great rallies and some great plays in the last three minutes.

“But it was great to have him out there. It validates what we’re doing out here.”

Added Whitmarsh, who had a brief stint in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves: “I didn’t even notice he was gone.”

Here’s what Shaq missed:

--A Whitmarsh block of Kiraly that tied the score, 11-11, with 1:31 left.

--Three consecutive digs by Whitmarsh, a 6-foot-7 blocker not known for his back-row play, on a rally that ended in a Whitmarsh kill and a sideout.

--A Whitmarsh kill and a one-arm dig by Dodd that sailed over the net for a point that gave them a 13-11 lead with 16 seconds left.

Dodd and Whitmarsh outscored Kiraly and Steffes, 5-0, during that streak, serving from the south side of the court, with the wind. Kiraly said that was a big factor in the match.

“It was difficult to score when we were on the North side,” Kiraly said. They had five in a row on us on that (South) side.”

With time running out, Kiraly and Steffes let a Whitmarsh serve fall for an ace, making it 14-11 with 13 seconds remaining.

“We decided to give up the point and (change sides), side out and get three quick points,” Steffes said.

Whitmarsh said Kiraly’s and Steffes’ strategy surprised him.

“I had to ask (Dodd) what they were doing,” he said.

Said Dodd: “It surprised me, but it was probably their only chance with so little time left.”

The victory was the 60th of Dodd’s career and his fourth at Seal Beach. He won with Tim Hovland in 1986 and 1988, and won last year with Pat Powers, beating Whitmarsh and Brian Lewis in the finals.

Whitmarsh dehydrated in last year’s final, a problem that has plagued him throughout his four-year pro career. But doctors diagnosed him with low-sodium after a series of blood tests last month, and Whitmarsh began taking salt pills before the Seal Beach tournament.

“I had tried many things,” he said, “and salt pills was it. It felt good to be out there in a final and have a chance to win.”

Whitmarsh certainly got a workout Sunday. He and Dodd battled through three losers’ bracket matches in the morning while Kiraly and Steffes relaxed in the players’ tent for three hours after their 9-8 victory over Sinjin Smith and Ricci Luyties in the winners’ bracket final.

In the championship match, Whitmarsh finished with 16 kills and three blocks and Dodd added 10 kills and two aces.

Steffes had 23 kills, three blocks and an ace, but had five service errors and four hitting errors.

A disappointed Kiraly had 11 kills and two aces.

“I guess I’m not meant to win at Seal Beach,” Kiraly said. “Not until next year, maybe.”

*

Add Shaq: The 7-1 basketball star is more than just a volleyball fan. He plays, too.

Shaq sat courtside with tour star Sinjin Smith and hung out with Smith in the players’ tent before the finals.

Smith said he and Shaq played a pickup match together in Manhattan Beach earlier in the summer.

“We won,” Smith said. “Shaq hit the ball so hard on the last point, he popped it.”