HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Kerri Walsh Jennings and partner April Ross won two matches Saturday and advanced to the semifinals of the smart AVP Championships.
If they win Sunday’s final, Walsh Jennings would earn her 113th career beach volleyball tournament title, breaking the record for most titles by a women’s player held by her retired former partner, Misty May-Treanor. All but eight of Walsh Jennings’ titles on the sand have been with May-Treanor, who retired after the pair won their third Olympic gold medal last year in London.
Top-seeded Walsh Jennings and Ross beat No. 9 seed Dianne DeNecochea and Raquel Ferreira 21-16, 21-15 and then outlasted 13th-seeded Annett Davis and Morgan Miller 19-21, 21-9, 15-13 to move into the semis.
On the men’s side, top-seeded Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson were upset 21-19, 12-21, 15-13 by No. 8 seed Brad Keenan and John Mayer in the second round. But Gibb and Patterson advanced in the double-elimination tournament with two more wins to secure a spot in the semifinals.
