Volleyball duo wins

Rachel Wacholder and teammate Elaine Youngs were frustrated after being swept by Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the women’s final of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open on May 28.

They experienced the same sense of frustration when they lost to the world’s top-ranked team in the women’s finals of the Santa Barbara Open on May 21.

That frustration changed to joy Sunday. Wacholder, a graduate of Laguna Beach High, and Youngs, who prepped at El Toro, won the Hermosa Beach Open, taking the women’s title on a beach where they regularly train.

The duo, seeded second, earned their first sweep of May-Treanor and Walsh in nearly a year, as they posted a 21-18, 24-22 victory in the final.

They swept their chief rival at the Huntington Beach Open last summer.

Sunday’s triumph gave Wacholder and Youngs their first tournament title of the 2006 AVP Crocs Tour.

May-Treanor and Walsh had won the first four tournaments of the tour.

“We kept saying ‘We’re going to win in two,’ after we beat them that first game,” Wacholder said. “We wanted to get it over with.

“It’s definitely a relief. It’s been tough these past few opens. We were really tense and uptight the past few finals, especially in Huntington. Playing at home this past weekend, we felt more relaxed and were having fun.”

Wacholder and Youngs had a game plan Sunday that May-Treanor and Walsh failed to counter.

“It was nothing special. We just played consistent,” Wacholder said. “We just went out and played hard and kept the momentum going throughout. It was a completely different feeling from when we last played them.”

The AVP travels north this weekend for the Sacramento Open, which begins with qualifiers today. The men’s and women’s finals are Sunday.

The AVP has not held an event in the state’s capital city since 1998.cpt.16-spwacholder-CPhotoInfoOJ1S0OAD20060616j05nkpncKENT TREPTOW / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Laguna Beach High alumnus Rachel Wacholder dives for the ball during the semifinals of the AVP Huntington Beach Open at the pier.