May-Treanor and Walsh suffer first loss since ’07

A record sell-out crowd at the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout in Mason, Ohio, on Sunday was treated to an Olympics feast.

The women’s final featured two teams that represented the U.S. at the Beijing Games last month, and it was the No. 3-seeded team of Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh who upended the No. 1-seed and two-time Olympic gold-medal winning team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, 21-19, 10-21, 25-23.

It was the first AVP tournament event for both teams since the Olympic Games and was the first loss suffered by May-Treanor and Walsh since Aug. 19, 2007.

Laguna Beach’s Rachel Wacholder (1993 graduate) and partner Tyra Turner, the No. 5 seed, were bumped from title contention by the No. 8-seeded team of Carrie Dodd/Tatiana Minello, losing 21-15, 19-21, 15-12 in a contenders’ bracket match Saturday.

Sunday’s men’s final saw Olympic champions and top-seeds Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers beat the No. 3-seeded team of Sean Scott/Nick Lucena, 21-15, 21-19. Dalhausser and Rogers also won tournament titles in Ohio in 2006 and 2007.

The next AVP Crocs Cup Shootout begins Saturday and ends Sunday in Santa Barbara.

“” Mike Sciacca