Ross comes into own

No regrets.

That’s the mentality for April Ross. She is not shy about admitting that now is the best time to shine on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour. There are supposed to be new headlines for Ross and her teammate Jen Kessy.

And, the story is supposed to go a little something like this: One former Newport Harbor High standout steps out the other steps in.

There’s a chance for Ross and Kessy to be the new stars on the sand. There’s no dancing around that fact.

The poster girls of the Beijing Olympics are out. Misty May-Treanor, the Newport Harbor High product, suffered a torn Achilles tendon while practicing a routine on, “Dancing with the Stars,” and Kerri Walsh is pregnant.

Last week, Ross, also from Newport Harbor, and Kessy broke some new ground. They won the Houston Open.

Now they are making their way to Ross’ favorite stop: the Huntington Beach Open. Qualifying started Thursday and the tournament action begins today.

Ross knows many of her friends from the past will be coming to watch her at the Huntington Beach Pier and she doesn’t want to disappoint.

“Huntington is my favorite tournament even more than Hermosa or Manhattan,” said Ross, who lives in Costa Mesa. “For me that’s as close as it comes to my hometown.”

While Huntington is close to the heart, Houston became a memorable spot for Ross.

It was mainly because Ross and Kessy changed their attitude, Ross said. They played with more fire.

They also must’ve been hungry for an AVP title. They had been winless in nine AVP finals. But the No. 2 seeds took out top-seeded Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh, 21-17, 18-21, 15-12, to win their first AVP title Sunday.

The victory also ended a 19-match win streak for Youngs-Branagh.

Ross and Kessy are quite familiar with Youngs and Branagh. When Ross and Kessy first became a team in 2007, they reached the finals of the Miami Open against Youngs and Branagh.

Ross and Kessy lost, of course, but because they clicked they remained a team.

“I think we’re very laid back people,” Ross said of her team. “We have the same sense of humor. Our games go well together. We both play an all-around game. Neither of us is huge or tiny. We like to scramble. We compromise. Our personalities mesh.”

They also like to have fun. Ross also doesn’t take for granted the unique lifestyle on the AVP Tour. She said she enjoys the traveling and loves the fact that she works on the beach. Because she gets along well with the pros, Ross also likes to indulge while on different stops.

“The saying is, ‘you have to work hard to play hard,’ ” Ross said. “But it’s really, ‘play hard to play harder,’ because we’re playing volleyball.”

But Ross never strays from her goals. She wants to win and the best time is now.

“I’m just super focused on volleyball,” Ross said. “I feel there is a window of opportunity this year. I want to make the most of it. I don’t want to have any regrets ... Misty and Kerri aren’t playing right now. It’s a huge speed bump out of the way. You know the likelihood of beating Misty and Kerri is not very high and the fact that they’re not in it you have a better chance.”