Poppinga, Rock Keep Rolling

Angela Rock’s strategy going into today’s Ocean Pacific U.S. Open semifinal match against top-seeded Holly McPeak and Lisa Arce sounds simple.

“We can’t give them a 10-0 lead,” said Rock, who graduated from El Toro High in 1981. “They’ve been jumping out to a big lead against us lately, and that makes it kind of hard to make a charge.”

Rock and partner Karrie Poppinga, who are seeded fourth, moved into the 9 a.m. semifinal match near the Huntington Beach Pier by squeezing by Marla O’Hara and Ali Wood, 15-10.

The match was tied, 10-10, but Rock and Poppinga changed sides and took advantage of the strong afternoon winds to serve four aces in their run.

“It definitely made a difference on the one side,” Rock said. “We’ve been lucky to be able to finish our matches on the better side.”

McPeak and Arce didn’t have any trouble advancing. The Manhattan Beach duo defeated Valinda Hilleary and Monique Oliver, 15-5, and then finished their day’s work with a 15-8 victory over Krista Blomquist and Christine Schaefer.

McPeak and Arce have won five of the seven Evian Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. tournaments this season and eight of the last 11 overall since becoming partners shortly after the summer Olympics, in which McPeak finished fifth playing with Nancy Reno.

“Lisa has one of the best serves on the beach, and she has the potential to be one of the best blockers on the beach,” McPeak said. “She learned a lot about the game training with me, so we have a similar style of play, tough serving and good defense.”

In other championship quarterfinal matches: third-seeded Barbra Fontana and Linda Hanley defeated sixth-seeded Linda Chisolm and Deb Richardson, 15-11.

Fontana and Hanley will play second-seeded Karolyn Kirby and Reno in the other semifinal.

Kirby and Reno, who are looking for their second consecutive WPVA victory, advanced by defeating Liz Mazakayan and former El Toro High Standout Elaine Youngs, 15-4, in the third round and they then got past 1996 Olympic bronze medalists, Australian’s Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst, 15-8, in the quarterfinals.

In the biggest upset of the day, Olympian Gail Castro and partner Gayle Stammer, seeded ninth, were eliminated by 23rd-seeded Evelyn Conley and Liz Pagano, 15-8, in a 13th-place match.

It was the first time this season Pagano and Conley, who is an anesthesiologist at UCLA Medical Center, have broken into the top 13 and finished in the money. “At least we won’t get skunked this year,” Conley said.