May, Walsh Pass the $1-Million Mark

The records keep piling up for Misty May and Kerri Walsh, and though both say they pay little attention to streaks or statistics, a victory Sunday at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Santa Barbara Open introduced the Olympic Gold medalists to some numbers they don’t mind: green ones.

Their 21-12, 21-14 thrashing of Holly McPeak and Jennifer Kessy in the women’s final at West Beach earned each winner $10,000 and made them the first women’s team to eclipse the $1-million mark in combined career earnings.

The two have made a habit of deflecting attention from past streaks and milestones but couldn’t help but high-five and smile when told of the accomplishment.

“We like those numbers,” May said.

The numbers that don’t interest May and Walsh might be even more impressive.

It was the 35th victory for the team in 55 worldwide tournaments together and their eighth in a row, going back to the Olympics in August. It also was one of their most dominant performances of the year.

They did not lose a game in six matches, gave up more than 15 points in only two of those games, and held foes to 13 points or fewer in seven of 12 games.

“This is the first tournament that we put everything together,” May said. “It’s been a little frustrating because we haven’t been playing our best. There are always little things here and there, and it finally clicked this tournament. We were playing even better than we were last year, so I’m very excited to see how good we can get.”

That’s a scary proposition for their opponents, who often appear frustrated after playing May and Walsh.

“I’m embarrassed,” said McPeak, the all-time women’s leader in career victories. “We train too hard to come out and play like that. I think we played decent the rest of the tournament to get there, but we can’t settle for getting to the final. We have to challenge May and Walsh.”

That would be just fine with Walsh, who said that her improved play over the weekend stemmed from a couple of close calls at tournament finals in Tempe, Ariz., and Austin, Texas. They lost a game in each of those finals before winning.

“Our improvement is based a lot on our opposition,” Walsh said. “They’ve gotten better, and that makes us work harder and want it more.”

The men’s final featured a pair of former partners and high school classmates squaring off against each other in a hometown showdown, with Dax Holdren getting the better of Todd Rogers as Holdren and Jeff Nygaard defeated Rogers and Sean Scott, 21-19, 19-21, 15-9.

Holdren and Rogers, both Santa Barbara residents, won eight titles as teammates from 1995 to 2001, but neither of the San Marcos High graduates had won in their hometown.

Combined, they had six runner-up finishes, including each of the last four Santa Barbara tournaments.

“You have no idea how good it feels,” Holdren said. “I’ve walked off this beach head down a few times. It’s an amazing feeling to win.”

It was a breakthrough of sorts for Holdren and Nygaard, who joined forces after each played with others in the Athens Olympics. They reached the finals in each of the first two tournaments this year but lost both times.

Scott said he could sense his opponents’ desire to get the elusive first victory, especially Holdren, who had several scintillating digs during the final match.

“Dax was definitely hungry,” Scott said. “He seemed focused, and he was playing with a lot of fire -- a lot more fire than I’ve seen.”