Youngs Stays Hot, Wins in Long Beach

Elaine Youngs won’t be traveling to Sydney for the Summer Olympics next month, but she can certainly afford to take a nice vacation.

Youngs won the women’s Beach Volleyball America tour stop in Long Beach Sunday, teaming with Nancy Reno to upset top-seeded Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 16-14, in the final.

It was the third victory in the last four weeks for Youngs, who won $36,500 in that span.

“I needed to win some money because we had some rough times this year,” said Youngs, who graduated from El Toro High in 1988. “My whole purpose this weekend was to come out and have fun. I’ve had a long year, a very stressful year and that’s all I expected out of myself. To win [the tournament] was just gravy.”

Youngs and former partner Liz Masakayan were involved in a tight battle with Misty May and Holly McPeak for the final Olympic qualifying spot, which is determined by points standings for the FIVB international tour.

Youngs and Masakayan had the advantage after winning an FIVB stop in Portugal in late July, but lost their grasp after a seventh-place finish in Japan the following week. Youngs and Masakayan defeated May and McPeak in the final at China last weekend, but were eliminated from Olympic contention when May and McPeak reached that championship match.

Youngs and Masakayan decided to go their separate ways, amicably, after failing to qualify. Youngs picked up Reno, who she played with on the international tour in 1997, while Masakayan stayed home this weekend.

“With Reno, it’s a lot different than playing with Liz,” said Youngs, who won her previous nine titles over four seasons with Masakayan. “Liz is a great player, one of the greatest of all time, but it’s so different. It’s easier in some ways. If I don’t set [Reno] perfect, she puts the ball down anyway. We just clicked this weekend.”

Youngs said she would love to continue playing with Reno beyond next weekend’s final BVA stop in San Diego, but Reno has indicated she’ll retire at the end of this season. Reno has won 30 tournaments in 11 seasons on the beach.

Youngs and Reno, seeded fourth, appeared to be heading for a second-place finish when they fell behind during Sunday’s final, 10-5 and 14-11. But Reno served three consecutive winners to even the score and Youngs moved it to game point with a dink into the back court.

The teams traded sideouts before Reno made a dig and put away the ensuing set from Youngs, earning $15,000 for the pair.

“[Elaine’s] the most offensive player I’ve ever played with and the most offensive player in the world on the beach right now,” Reno said.

Johnson Jordan and Davis have the other U.S. Olympic qualifying berth, but they didn’t treat Sunday’s final as if it were a practice match.

“We wanted to play under this kind of pressure,” said Johnson Jordan, the daughter of former Olympic track star Rafer Johnson. “This is what we need to do before we go to Sydney, these kinds of situations, but hopefully with a different outcome. “

Former Laguna Beach High player Linda Hanley finished fourth with partner Karrie Poppinga. Finishing fifth was former UC Irvine standout Ali Wood and partner Danalee Bragado, and finishing seventh was former Laguna Beach High player Rachel Wacholder and partner Nancy Mason.