May-Treanor, Ross collide in semis

Beach volleyball legend Misty May-Treanor will meet fellow Newport Harbor High alumnus April Ross in the semifinals of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Championships on Sunday at 9 a.m. near the Huntington Beach pier.

May-Treanor, playing in her second AVP event this year after a hiatus following the 2012 Olympic Games where she won her third gold medal, and partner Brittany Hochevar won three matches Saturday to advance out of the contenders’ bracket.

May-Treanor, who has won 66 AVP events and finished third with Hochevar earlier this season at the Seattle Open, eliminated No. 5-seeded Kelley Larsen and Betsi Metter Flint, 21-13, 24-22, to earn the semifinal berth.

The win avenged the No. 12-seeded duo’s first-round defeat by Larsen and Metter Flint, which was the first time May-Treanor had lost in the first round of an AVP tournament since 2003.

May-Treanor and Hochevar, both of whom played collegiately at Long Beach State, defeated No. 7-seeded Jessica Stubinski and Megan Wallin-Brockway, 23-21, 22-20, and also downed No. 9-seeded Lynne Galli and Lisa Rutledge, 21-14, 21-16, on Saturday.

Ross, playing with Lauren Fendrick as the No. 11-seeded entry, defeated No. 2-seeded Emily Day and Jennifer Kessy, 24-22, 19-21, 15-9, in a 74-minute quarterfinal match on Saturday.

Ross, who teamed with Kessy to earn a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, won the Huntington Beach event last year with Kerri Walsh Jennings, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who is out with a shoulder injury.

May-Treanor has won five AVP titles in Huntington Beach and had two more runner-up finishes.

Costa Mesa resident Brad Keenan and former Newport Harbor standout Ty Tramblie were eliminated in the men’s tournament on Saturday to finish ninth.

— From staff reports