Reports of Their Demise Overstated

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were reeling, their confidence was flagging and the aura of invincibility that had surrounded them for much of the last three years was slipping away.

The Olympic champions delivered a much-needed victory Saturday with a hard-fought 21-23, 22-20, 15-11 decision over Elaine Youngs and Rachel Wacholder in the women’s final of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Manhattan Beach Open.

The victory, in front of a standing-room-only crowd that included the USC football team, WNBA standout Lisa Leslie and former NFL quarterback Warren Moon, avenged a 21-15, 21-16 loss to the same team last week which had equaled the most lopsided loss of their four years as teammates.

“We needed a little morale boost,” May-Treanor said. “After last week, this was huge. It would have been easy for us to crumble this weekend knowing that they beat us the weekend before, and we didn’t. We stuck in there and we fought.”

After trailing, 15-16, May-Treanor and Walsh rallied to win the second game then fell behind, 4-1, in Game 3 before improved defensive play led to a 9-1 run, a 10-5 lead and control of the match.

In the semifinal, they squeaked past Holly McPeak and Jennifer Kessy, 21-19, 22-24, 15-13.

“We fought the entire weekend,” Walsh said. “We played a grueling schedule and had very little time off between our matches and we played great teams and we did well so it was big.”

Wacholder and Youngs had their chances. They tied the score in the second game, 20-20, when Youngs blocked a kill attempt by May, but Youngs put the next serve in the net to give May-Treanor and Walsh a 21-20 lead. Walsh then sent it to a third game with a cut shot that hit the sideline.

Despite the loss, Wacholder said she and Youngs have nothing to hang their heads about because they have changed the landscape of women’s volleyball with two victories over May-Treanor and Walsh this season and a 2-3 record in their last five meetings.

“They used to come out and everyone watching was like, ‘Here it goes again, they’re going to win,’ ” Wacholder said of May-Treanor and Walsh. “Now I don’t know if anyone’s sure who’s going to win.”

Walsh said that she and May-Treanor haven’t reached their peak this season, nearly a year after their gold-medal victory in the Athens Olympics. Because of a hectic schedule, they had practiced only twice in the last 10 weeks, she said.

“We did some great things today, but we haven’t hit that fifth gear yet. It’s coming. I feel it coming because we’re hungry. Today was all heart and we fought.”

Added May-Treanor: “Our game is going to come together and when it does, it’s going to be scary.”

Defending men’s champions Karch Kiraly and Mike Lambert went 1-1 Saturday and will play Sean Rosenthal and Larry Witt today at 9 a.m. for a spot in the final four. Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard defeated Kiraly and Lambert, 21-17, 16-21, 15-13, and earned a semifinal berth.

Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena also advanced to the semifinals with a 21-19, 19-21, 15-9 upset over top-seeded Stein Metzger and Jake Gibb. Metzger and Gibb can reach the semifinals through the contender’s bracket. The men’s semifinals are at 11 a.m., the final at 1 p.m.