Things go as expected at the beach

Olympic gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers brushed aside their first- and second-round opponents Friday as main-draw play of the AVP Crocs Tour Huntington Beach Open began.

Ditto for top-seeded Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

And the sun rose in the east, Southland freeways got crowded and surfers rode waves beyond the shore. Results earned by the premier teams were almost that predictable.

But there’s a touching side story to accompany early-round beach volleyball play: Kerri Walsh, bursting with pride and a baby boy, is due to bring Joseph Michael Jennings into the world at any minute (it had not happened as play ended).

Walsh, who with Misty May-Treanor won the Olympic gold medal late last August as the two achieved global fame, actually is a week past due and did not attend the tournament.

But she said via phone to Ryan Morgan, her agent, that the “Beijing baby,” conceived the night of the gold-medal triumph, was “still comfortable in there” and in no hurry to take his place as citizen of the planet.

The kid is missing loads of action on the sand. On Friday there were 80 men’s and women’s matches held on courts spread across the sand south of the Surf City pier.

The Huntington Beach Open, the fifth of 16 AVP Crocs Tour events, is the first being played on an actual beach.

There were no monumental upsets (although fifth-seeded men’s and women’s teams lost to 12th-seeded teams), and Dalhausser and Rogers seemed merely to go through the motions.

In their second-round match against Jose Loiola and Larry Witt, they pulled ahead midway through the first game to win, 21-17. In the second game, largely because of the 6-foot-9 Dalhausser’s net presence, they sustained a late rally to prevail, 22-20.

Afterward both players acknowledged the difficulty of getting motivated for early-round matches. “It’s definitely tough, and it can also be tough to win when everybody else is bringing their ‘A’ game,” Rogers said.

Dalhausser and Rogers, who will open play today against ninth-seeded Ryan Mariano and Ed Ratledge, are competing in their 50th event together and seeded first for the 22nd time. They’ve won 16 times as the top-seeded team.

Branagh and Youngs, who are benefiting from the absence of Walsh and May-Treanor, cruised in their first match against Patti Cook and Jill Muhe, 21-11, 21-12.

But they were tested in both games of the second match before prevailing against Diane Pascua and Alicia Polzin, 22-20, 21-19.

They’re 3-1 this season, have a 24-1 match record as a top-seeded team, and will open play today against eighth-seeded Priscilla Lima and Tatiana Minello.

Asked about Walsh and May-Treanor, who is injured and out for the season, Branagh said, “I’m sure everyone’s enjoying having a better chance at winning tournaments, but I miss having them here.

“Competing against them makes us better, and they’re great ambassadors for beach volleyball and the fans love them and we love them. But they’ll be back soon.”

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pete.thomas@latimes.com