Huntington Beach Open notes: Kerri Walsh Jennings pulls off a save for April Ross
She might be the best beach volleyball player in the world, but Kerri Walsh Jennings made the save of the day Friday without even touching a volleyball.
In the middle of their first-round match of the AVP Huntington Beach Open, her partner April Ross had the misfortune of seeing her bikini top snap. She immediately hit the sand on her stomach while the crowd tried to absorb what just happened.
As Ross lay on the sand, Walsh Jennings trotted over to the sideline to pick up a towel so she could escort her partner and solve the wardrobe malfunction.
“It was a very dramatic moment,” Walsh Jennings said, smiling.
But they were ready for the contingency, since it happened during a practice this week in Hermosa Beach.
“It’s happened to us a couple times, so we were prepared,” Ross said. “I brought an extra bathing suit top, so we were good. Good thing my reactions are so quick. I think I did OK.”
On the court the top women’s seeds were even better, taking out Ross’s former USC teammate, Keao Burdine, and Kaui Salzman, 21-8, 21-12, in a match that took only 30 minutes.
Burdine and Salzman had earned a shot at the main draw by winning the AVPNext Challenge against players from seven other regions of the country.
“Keao was my very first beach volleyball partner so I know how explosive and athletic she is and how good she can be,” Ross said. “So when I saw that we were playing her my guard went up a bit, which was great. She played great, but we were definitely on our game today.”
Walsh Jennings and Ross improved their 2014 AVP record to 32-0 and remain on course to win their seventh consecutive tour event.
PULLING ANOTHER FAST ONE
Don’t put anything past Brittany Hochevar and Ali McColloch.
Two weeks ago, they were on the vege of elimination in Atlantic City when they trailed Angela Bensend and Geena Urango, 14-10, in the third game (which goes to 15). They pulled out a 16-14 triumph.
They did it again Friday in the first round in a marathon match. Hochevar and McColloch had split the first two games with Olaya Pazo and Sheila Shaw, 22-20, 20-22, and then in the third game, there was that 14-10 deficit again.
They rallied to tie it at 14-14 but it wasn’t over until Hochevar and McColloch emerged with a 26-24 Game 3 win.
“I don’t know if there’s necessarily a secret as far as just playing the game between the ears and managing the game that happens between the ears,” Hochevar said. “Those battles are very unique. It’s not necessarily what you do, it’s when you do it.
“At 14-10 down in the third, it’s allowing the patience and allowing the mind to go in the very, very present, in the moment, because you still have control of the pass, you have control of the set.”
ONE SURPRISE
There was one upset in the women’s first round when 12th-seeded Sarah Day and Christal Engle, who had to qualify with two victories on Thursday to reach the main draw, bumped off fifth-seeded Nicole Branagh and Amanda Dowdy, 21-17, 25-23.
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