BEACH VOLLEYBALL : After Four Years, Stoklos Wins at Manhattan Beach

Randy Stoklos is the second-winningest player in pro beach volleyball with 118 titles, but his luck at the Manhattan Beach Open has not been that great in recent years. A three-time champion in Manhattan Beach, Stoklos had failed to win there in the last four years.

Sunday, Stoklos teamed with Adam Johnson and came out of the consolation bracket to defeat Brian Lewis and Bill Boullianne, 14-7, in the final.

Third-seeded Stoklos and Johnson dominated from the start, taking advantage of their opponents’ lethargic play and taking a 9-0 lead minutes into the match as Lewis and Boullianne, seeded sixth, made several costly errors.

Boullianne was in his first pro tournament final.

“You could see it in the players’ tent,” Stoklos said. “We knew he was under a lot of pressure, so we focused on him and kept Brian out of the game.”

Said Lewis: “Those guys just played flawless. They took our best shots and hit them right back. They just played really well.”

Lewis served for all of his team’s points. He hit an ace to make the score, 9-1, and a couple of side outs later served three consecutive points for 10-4. Stoklos and Johnson led by 13-4 before Lewis-Boullianne squeezed in three points as time expired on the nine-minute clock. Stoklos served for his team’s last point with about a minute left to play.

Linda Chisolm and Linda Hanley won the eight-team women’s division.