A Sunny Reunion

Karch Kiraly figured he had seen just about everything in professional beach volleyball after 27 years, but the way he split with partner Mike Lambert changed that.

“I essentially dumped myself,” Kiraly said. “That might be the first time in the history of the sport that somebody dumped himself.”

Now, after a five-tournament separation, Kiraly, the all-time leader in victories, and Lambert, the reigning Assn. of Volleyball Players most valuable player, have reunited for the AVP Nissan Series Huntington Beach Open beginning today near the Huntington Beach Pier.

Lambert and Kiraly are seeking to rekindle the magic that made them the AVP’s best team in 2004, when they had three victories and seven top-three finishes in nine tournaments. Expectations will be high, but not for the players.

“We’re both capable of doing what it takes to push the team to win tournaments, but I’m not going to go out there and force it on us,” Lambert said. “We’ve got it in us, for sure. This late in the season, if you come out and have some great results, you can really leave your mark on the season and have good memories.”

The early part of this year was quite forgettable. After the first three tournaments, they finished no better than seventh. Kiraly, recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, took most of the blame and told Lambert to find another partner. Kiraly’s reasoning was simple: He didn’t know how long it would take to get his game back and felt that Lambert deserved better.

Lambert played two tournaments with Eric Fonoimoana, finishing fifth and ninth, but couldn’t find a groove and left him. He seemed to find a match in John Hyden when the two won their first tournament in Cincinnati, but things quickly went awry with ninth-place finishes in the next two events.

Kiraly then came to mind. After all, the pair had made the final four seven times last year, including five finals.

Kiraly was partnered with Adam Jewell by then and had improved, but he saw little success and had new career lows -- twice finishing 13th -- because neither man is a consistent blocker. Looking back, Lambert said they probably should have stayed together.

“When Karch let me go, he kind of said, ‘Here you go, look around, but the door is always open,’ ” Lambert said. “So when I wasn’t able to find a consistent level with the other guys, I kind of kept tabs on Karch.”

The two saw each other often. They share the services of coach Mike Rangel and worked out together. After a makeshift practice match in New York in June, they knew the chemistry was still there.

“We were clicking,” Lambert said. “So after we finished the scrimmage, I kind of walked by him and I was like ‘parrrt-nerrr’ under my breath. And he was like ‘parrrt-nerrr.’ But at the time, we had different guys, so that’s all that was said.”

Until three weeks ago. That’s when Lambert asked Rangel about Kiraly’s recent play at the Hermosa Beach Open.

“Karch was getting better and better and better,” Rangel said. “He was siding out like a god again. So Mike calls me and says, ‘Shoot straight with me, how well is Karchie playing?’ I said, ‘Mike, I’ll tell you right now, the best sideout player out here is Karch. He’s a machine.’ ”

In Lambert, Kiraly gets the intimidating net presence he was missing with Jewel. In Kiraly, Lambert gets a defensive whiz with proven greatness: Three Olympic gold medals, 147 career victories and six MVP awards. He also gets an emotional lift, something Kiraly said he noticed Lambert needed.

“He’s been showing signs of frustration,” Kiraly said. “My goal is to get some really good vibes going on our side like we did last year.

“We had such great chemistry, having fun and laughing and celebrating. I know he’s going to play his best when he’s having a great time out there, so my goal is to kind of get the fun back for him and for me.”