Fontana and Hanley Win at Hermosa

Nancy Reno said she teamed with Karolyn Kirby two weeks ago to have fun.

But Reno, seeded No. 1 with Kirby, didn’t seem to enjoy losing, 12-11, to fourth-seeded Linda Hanley and Barbra Fontana in the final of the $50,000 Hermosa Beach Open on Sunday.

With the score tied, 11-11, and only 23 seconds remaining on the nine-minute clock, Fontana gave her team a 12-11 lead with a soft shot that Reno failed to return.

After a sideout, Reno served for a chance to tie, but Hanley hit a shot over Kirby’s block as time expired. The rally clock was used in Sunday’s semifinals and final because those matches were televised.

“They got hot when they needed it at the end,” Reno said. “And I think we’re still rough around the edges.”

It was the first Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. tournament title for the Fontana-Hanley team. They will split $11,000 and Kirby-Reno will divide $8,100.

“We served horribly,” Kirby said.

Hanley and Fontana will receive a bye into the final four of next month’s Olympic trials in Baltimore because they were the United States’ second-place team on the international FIVB tour.

Holly McPeak, 26, and Reno, 30, placed first in the FIVB series and earned the automatic berth in Atlanta. Breaking up was Reno’s idea but the team plans to reunite sometime before the Olympics.

Kirby, the winningest WPVA player, plans to enter the trials with Lisa Arce, 26, who competed at Berkeley and placed third with McPeak at Hermosa Beach.