Rosenthal, Witt Play Through Loss of Friend

Rosie’s Raiders were as boisterous as usual Friday during the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Hermosa Beach Open, displaying their support of local favorite Sean Rosenthal and partner Larry Witt.

But the group of about 50 fans, known to travel with the AVP, so that Rosenthal and Witt are not without backing, was a man short.

Rosenthal and Witt roared through the winner’s bracket with three victories Friday, dispatching third-seeded Casey Jennings and Matt Fuerbringer, 18-21, 21-17, 16-14, along the way. Afterward, Rosenthal said he was playing this weekend with a heavy heart.

A longtime friend and a regular member of his rowdy cheering section lost a battle with cancer Sunday. Darren Marsee was 24.

“It was real quick,” Rosenthal said. “He was diagnosed three months ago.”

Rosie’s Raiders wore black shirts on Friday that read, “In loving Memory of Darren Marsee.” His twin sister was among the supporters.

Witt and Rosenthal rewarded their faithful with a stellar performance in the match against the Fuerbringer and Jennings. Witt, 6 feet 4, had 22 kills and Rosenthal, 6-2, had 14 against Fuerbringer, who at 6-7 is among the tallest blockers on tour.

The deep sands at Hermosa Beach, among the deepest the AVP plays all season, help a smaller team such as Rosenthal and Witt, which relies more on ball control and precision than power and blocks.

Next up for Rosenthal and Witt is the second-seeded team of Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard. On the line is a spot in the final four. Top-seeded Stein Metzger and Jake Gibb also made it through the first day undefeated and today will be trying to end the curse of top-seeded teams. It has been 24 tournaments since a top-seeded men’s team won an open event.

“You can call it a jinx or you can call it parity,” Gibb said. “I call it parity.”

Metzger and Gibb have a tour-best three victories this season, but none has come as the No. 1-seeded team.

“It’s about time somebody breaks it,” Metzger said. “We’d be happy to break it. I think that anybody who has the No. 1 seed has the mission to break it. You just don’t always have the opportunity.”

The men’s final is at 1:30 p.m. today, but beach legend Karch Kiraly won’t have the opportunity to knock off Metzger and Gibb. Kiraly, the tour’s all-time leader in victories with 147, won twice and lost twice Friday and is out of the tournament with a ninth-place finish.

Women’s play was light Friday because they are playing a three-day event with the finals Sunday, a move made to capitalize on the popularity of Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.