Locals capture FIVB, AVP titles

Misty-May Treanor took care of business in Montreal, while Mike Lambert continued to show he can win, too, in New Jersey.

In a preview of a possible Beijing 2008 Olympic Games match, May-Treanor, the former Newport Harbor High standout, and Kerri Walsh reclaimed the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball’s Montreal Open gold medal on Sunday.

The reigning Olympic and world champions defeated the Chinese tandem of Xue Chen and Zhang Xi for the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour gold medal at Stade Uniprix in Jarry Park.

With both teams leading candidates for Beijing Olympic berths, May-Treanor and Walsh posted a 21-16, 16-21, 15-12 win in 54 minutes over Xue and Zhang to win their second gold medal on the Stade Uniprix centre court after capturing the inaugural Montreal Open in 2002.

May-Treanor and Walsh have now won 19 of 20 FIVB matches this season with their lone setback being a 21-19 and 21-19 decision to Tian Jia and Wang Fie of China in the Norwegian grand slam semifinal last week in Stavanger where the Americans placed third. May-Treanor and Walsh have only lost five of 43 sets this season.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, it took two three-game matches for Costa Mesa resident Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger to capture the Assn. of Volleyball Professional’s Seaside Heights Open championship on Sunday.

The third-seeded duo defeated top seeds Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, 23-21, 15-21, 15-13, for their third title of the season.

Lambert and Metzger, champions in Charleston last month, advanced to the final with a hard-fought 21-13, 22-24, 15-10 win over the No. 2 seeds Jake Gibb of Costa Mesa and Sean Rosenthal.

“Rogers was doing a really good job against us,” Lambert told AVP.com after the championship match. “But they made some crucial errors that were pretty helpful to us. Coming down to the wire in the third match we were going to have to make a great defensive play or they were to have to make an error.”

On the women’s side, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs won their second title of the season with a 21-19, 18-21, 16-14 victory over Jen Boss and April Ross, a product of Newport Harbor High.

The match, which lasted one hour and 41 minutes, was the longest for me or women since 2002.

Boss and Ross entered Sunday’s final undefeated. They beat third seeds Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 21-14, 21-13 in the semifinals.

Ross and her teammate came into the Seaside Heights Open with great momentum, having won the FIVB’s Conoco/Phillips Grand Slam in Stavanger, Norway last week. The tandem split the $43,500 grand prize and became the lowest seeded women’s team (29th) in FIVB history to win a gold medal.

The AVP Crocs Tour resumes at Long Beach, July 19-22. That’s where May-Treanor, a former Long Beach State star, will have a homecoming of sorts.

— From staff reports