Kingston AVP Championships - Huntington Beach - Misty May-Treanor is back

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor, back from retirement, and Brittany Hochevar tally three victories to reach semifinals of Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach.

A day after experiencing a first-round defeat in an AVP event for the first time since she joined the AVP Tour in 2003, three-time reigning Olympic gold medalist and 66-time AVP tournament champion Misty May-Treanor found herself back in familiar territory Saturday – in the semifinals of the Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach and vying for another AVP title.

Before the largest Stadium Court crowd of the day, May-Treanor and partner Brittany Hochevar secured the last women’s semifinal berth with a 21-13, 24-22 victory over fifth-seeded Kelley Larsen and Betsi Metter Flint, the same team that sent them to the contenders’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament after Friday’s first round.

(photo: AVP/Robert Beck)

Misty May-Treanor – a five-time champion and seven-time finalist in Huntington Beach – is making her first AVP Tour appearance in Southern California, and second overall, since retiring from professional beach volleyball following the 2012 London Olympics. May-Treanor/Hochevar advanced as far as the semifinals of the AVP Kingston Seattle Open in August.

The Long Beach State products won three contenders’ bracket matches Saturday. Prior to their quarterfinal, the pair edged No. 7 seeds Jessica Stubinski and Megan Wallin-Brockway, 23-21, 22-20, before downing ninth-seeded Lynne Galli and Lisa Rutledge, 21-14, 21-16.

A trio of defending champions – Huntington Beach residents and men’s top seeds Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson, and April Ross, of Costa Mesa, Calif. – booked their reservations for Sunday’s semifinals in the Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach

Given the star power advancing through Saturday’s quarterfinals, and with the AVP Tour’s season points championships and its largest purse of its seven-event season on the line, the $200,000 Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach is shaping up to be one explosive grand finale to the 2015 AVP season.

The Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach resumes with the women’s semifinals Sunday at 9 a.m. The women’s final – broadcast live on NBC Sports Network – takes place on Stadium Court at 12 p.m., followed by the men’s final at 2 p.m.

The day’s first semifinal berth was earned from a match that was as good as advertised. Ross and Lauren Fendrick, partnering for the first time, edged No. 2 seeds Emily Day and Jennifer Kessy, 24-22, 19-21, 15-9, in a duel that was nip-and-tuck all the way. Leading 9-8 in the final game, Ross/Fendrick pulled away by winning six of the last seven points.

The other women’s winners’ bracket quarterfinal featured the AVP’s two most recent women’s champions as AVP Kingston Chicago Open winners Nicole Branagh and Jenny Kropp, this week’s top seeds, defeated AVP Kingston Cincinnati Open winners Larsen/Metter Flint, 21-18, 15-21, 15-9. Branagh/Kropp will meet Day/Kessy, who rallied through the contender’s bracket, in a Sunday semifinal pitting the top two seeds.

In the men’s draw, Gibb and Patterson endured a hard-fought challenge from fourth-seeded Casey Jennings and Billy Kolinske in the winners’ bracket and advanced to the semifinals with a 21-18, 21-19 triumph. Gibb will be going for his third AVP title in Huntington Beach.

Second-seeded Ryan Doherty and John Mayer claimed the first men’s semifinal spot with a 21-17, 21-17 victory over third-seeded Tri Bourne and John Hyden. Bourne/Hyden rebounded through the contender’s bracket to grab a semifinal spot and a meeting with Gibb/Patterson thanks to a 25-23, 21-13 win over qualifiers Billy Allen and Robart Page, who lost a first-round contest to Bourne/Hyden on Friday and rallied through the contenders’ bracket for a quarterfinal rematch.

Jennings/Kolinkse dropped into the contenders’ bracket and lost the last semifinal spot to brothers Trevor and Taylor Crabb, 21-14, 21-17. The Crabb brothers, who will square off against Doherty/Mayer, also were semifinalists together for the first time at last month’s AVP Manhattan Beach Open.

(photo: AVP/Robert Beck)

The Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach has as strong a heartbeat as any event on the AVP Tour. Hosting its 15^th AVP tournament in the past 16 years just south of the Huntington Beach pier, no city has seen more AVP action this century than Huntington Beach.

General admission for the Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach is free. VIP ticket packages, which include an exclusive viewing section, player meet and greets, and light food and beverage, can be purchased at the tournament’s ticket booth or at www.AVP.com.

The AVP thanks its partners – Kingston, Barefoot Refresh, Paul Mitchell, DripDrop, Jaybird, Rakuten, Rakuten Card and the National Honey Board – for their support of the Kingston AVP Championships at Huntington Beach.