Beach Volleyball: Ross, partner add another AVP crown
Costa Mesa resident April Ross and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings continued their dominance on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals beach tour by winning the San Francisco Open on Sunday.
Top-seeded Ross and Walsh Jennings defeated Costa Mesa resident Sara Hughes and her partner, Kelly Claes, 21-15, 23-21, in a 36-minute final. It makes 11 straight titles in AVP events in which Ross and Walsh Jennings have played together.
It’s the sixth straight crown for Ross in an AVP events in which she has competed, as Walsh Jennings was sidelined most of the 2015 season with a shoulder injury.
Ross, a Newport Harbor High product and a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympics in London, and Walsh Jennings, who won three Olympic gold medals with another Newport Harbor graduate, Misty May-Treanor, have won 14 of the 15 AVP events in which they have entered as a team.
Hughes and Claes, who as juniors helped USC claim the inaugural NCAA beach volleyball title in May, reached their first AVP final in their fifth AVP tournament. They finished third the previous week in the New York City Open and were third once in 2015.
Hughes and Claes, who won the qualifying event and were the No. 13 seed in the main draw, lost a three-set battle with Ross and Walsh Jennings, 17-21, 21-18, 17-15, on Saturday. The opening-set win by Hughes and Claes in that 54-minute match snapped a 66-set AVP win streak for the two Olympians, who represent the United States in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August.
Ross and Walsh Jennings split $15,000, while Hughes and Claes qualified for a $10,000 runner-up purse that they could not accept since they wish to maintain their NCAA eligibility as seniors.
Ross had 14 aces in 11 sets to lead all players in the event, held at the Embarcadero Pier, and her .600 hitting percentage was also best in the field.
Hughes led all players with 86 digs in 14 sets, though Ross averaged a tournament-best 6.35 digs per set, just better than Hughes’ 6.14 average.
Costa Mesa resident Jennifer Fopma, who along with Jennifer Kessy finished seventh, ranked second in blocks (11) and third in hitting percentage (.538).
Hughes’ 74 kills were fifth-most in the event and she hit .436 to rank No. 10. She also had five aces in 14 sets.
Ross and Walsh Jennings defeated No. 5-seeded Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar, 21-13, 21-18, in a 41-minute semifinal Sunday.
Hughes and Claes topped No. 2-seeded Lane Carico and Summer Ross, 21-15, 23-21, in a 36-minute semifinal.
The AVP tour continues with the Manhattan Beach Open, July 14-17.
— Barry Faulkner
— Barry Faulkner