Gibb takes second again in AVP tourney

ARLINGTON, Texas — Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb and his teammate Sean Rosenthal had to settle for runner-up status once again going up against the red-hot team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Cuervo Gold Crown Dallas Open Saturday.

Rogers and Dalhausser, the No. 2 seed, won the Miami Open last week and this week they collected the Dallas Open crown after a 21-14, 21-16 win Saturday over the third-seeded Gibb and Rosenthal.

Earlier in the day, Gibb and Rosenthal nearly defeated Rogers and Dalhausser, but lost, 24-26, 21-12, 15-13, in the fourth round of the winner’s bracket.

Gibb and Rosenthal split $15,000 for finishing in second place. The winners took home $20,000.

Rogers and Dalhausser never trailed in the championship match. It was 10-10 in the first game when Rogers and Dalhausser scored three straight points to regain command.

Rogers and Dalhausser have four consecutive team events overall dating back to last year. They have a 17-match winning streak and they are 13-2 against Gibb and Rosenthal.

Estancia High product Matt Fuerbringer and his partner Sean Scott, the No. 4 seed, finished tied for third. The duo split $9,500

Gibb’s team defeated Fuerbringer’s in a tight semifinal, 14-21, 23-21, 15-12.

The Dallas Open’s top seed, Costa Mesa resident Mike Lambert and teammate Stein Metzger, lost in their first winner’s bracket match on Friday, 15-21, 21-10, 15-12.

On the women’s side, Misty May-Treanor, a Newport Harbor High product, played just one match Saturday.

May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the top seed, defeated No. 4-seeded Dianne DeNecochea and Barbra Fontana, 21-16, 21-18.

May-Treanor and Walsh, the four-time defending AVP Team of the Year, will face Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, the No. 2 seed in a semifinal today.

April Ross, also a Newport Harbor product, nearly got out of the contender’s bracket with her teammate Jennifer Boss. The No. 8-seeded team, which finished second at the Miami Open last week, upset third-seeded Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 14-21, 34-22, 15-10 in the third round of the contender’s bracket. But, Ross and Boss the lost to fifth-seeded Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder, 21-18, 21-19.

Ross and Boss finished tied for seventh and split $4,650.

Ross, along with the rest of the volleyball players from the Newport-Mesa area, will return close to home May 3-6, when the AVP Tour comes to Huntington Beach.