BEACH VOLLEYBALL: REUNION RESULTS IN IMPROBABLE WIN KIRALY, LAMBERT WIN H.B. OPEN AFTER THREE-MONTH HIATUS.Byline: Sean Martin Sean Martin may refer to:
HUNTINGTON BEACH Huntington Beach, city (1990 pop. 181,519), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast, across from Santa Catalina Island, in an oil-producing area; inc. 1909. It manufactures aerospace vehicles, aircraft parts, optical instruments, and heat transfer equipment. - Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick Kiraly, better known as Karch Kiraly (born November 3, 1960 in Jackson, Michigan), is an American volleyball player who is the only person to have won Olympic gold medals in both the indoor and beach versions of the sport. raised his arms, waved his trademark fluorescent pink hat above his head and screamed as he embraced Mike Lambert at center court Saturday at the Association of Volleyball Professionals The AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) was founded in 1983 by Leonard Armato. The organization started its own American beach volleyball mens tour in 1984. By the late 80's, the tour was experiencing tremendous growth, in part through the promotion of the sport by Huntington Beach Open. Lambert's block completed an improbable title run for last year's AVP AVP arginine vasopressin. Team of the Year, which defeated Larry Witt and Sean Rosenthal 15-21, 26-24, 17-15 in Saturday's championship match. Kiraly (UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX ) and Lambert, who overcame Rosenthal and Witt's chance at championship point in the final's second game and rallied from a 12-10 deficit in the decisive third game, were playing together for the first time in more than three months. They won three times last year but split up at Kiraly's urging earlier this season after failing to finish better than seventh in their first three events of 2005. The duo had to defeat two of the AVP's top teams twice en route to the Huntington Beach title, and they had to battle back from first-game losses in all three of their matches Saturday. The win was the first in 11 months for the 44-year-old Kiraly, who became the oldest winner in tour history. Kiraly, who had offseason shoulder surgery, thought he might never play again after injuring the same shoulder while hitting a ball in a match against Rosenthal and Witt in Fort Lauderale, Fla., earlier this season. ``(The victories) get sweeter every time,'' Kiraly said. ``I cherish them a lot more, because they don't come as often.'' Kiraly said he knew winning his 148th title would be very difficult, if not unlikely, without Lambert at his side. Kiraly led his team with 31 kills, as Rosenthal and Witt played away from Lambert, the AVP's Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player in 2004. Kiraly used a veteran's touch in hitting around and over the blocks of his taller opponents. ``We were going at Karch and giving Lambert a few so Karch couldn't get in a rhythm, but it didn't seem to work,'' Rosenthal said. Kiraly and Lambert, the tournament's seventh seeds, defeated Rosenthal and Witt, who have finished in the top three in their past three tournaments, twice Saturday. Kiraly and Lambert also defeated second-seeded Jake Gibb Jake Gibb (born February 6, 1976 in Bountiful, Utah) is a top beach volleyball player from the United States. He is playing on the AVP Tour with current partner, Sean Rosenthal. Gibb has won a total of nine times (the duo won two events in 2007 so far). and Stein Metzger Stein Metzger (born November 17, 1972 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a top beach volleyball player from the United States, playing in the AVP. In 2006 he played with his high school teammate, Mike Lambert, and they advanced to the Final Four in fourteen of the fifteen team events, winning , who lead the tour with three victories, on Friday and Saturday. It was the 26th consecutive AVP tournament in which the top seed has failed to win. Dax Holdren Dax Holdren (born September 4, 1972 in Santa Barbara, California) is an American professional beach volleyball player. Holdren is currently on the AVP tour playing with Jeff Nygaard. and Eric Fonoimoana were the last to accomplish the feat, at Fort Lauderdale in April 2003. The men have been without a single dominant team to market, but the title puts Kiraly, the sport's biggest name, back in the spotlight. The women play their final today at 1 p.m., the second consecutive tournament in which the women's final has been held Sunday. The switch was made to capitalize on the popularity of Athens gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, who have won seven of eight AVP events this season. May and Walsh remained undefeated through the tournament's first two days. Rachel Wacholder and Elaine Youngs, the only players to defeat May-Treanor and Walsh this season, also are undefeated. The teams have faced each other in every tournament this season, including five finals. Sean Martin, (818) 713-3607 sean.martin(at)dailynews.com |
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