Rain thwarts AVP

Rain and heavy winds halted play on the final day of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals’ St. Petersburg open in Florida on Sunday.

The men’s final, in which Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb and partner Casey Patterson defeated Theodore Brunner and Nick Lucena, 22-20, in the first game, was suspended. It will be finished on Sept. 26 in Santa Barbara, the day before the AVP’s Santa Barbara Open begins.

Gibb and Patterson are the No. 2 seed, while Brunner-Lucena are seeded third.

The women’s final, in which Costa Mesa resident and Olympic silver medalist April Ross was scheduled to compete with her partner, Jennifer Kessy, was canceled on Sunday. Ross and Kessy were to face Emily Day and Summer Ross for the title, but instead will split the points and prize money allotted the first- and second-place finishers.

Day and Ross advanced to the final by knocking off former UC Irvine standout Whitney Pavlik and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, 22-20, 21-17, in one semifinal.

Pavlik and Walsh Jennings finish with a share of third place.

The Santa Barbara tournament continues through Sept. 29.

— From staff reports