Kerri Walsh

Mike Sciacca Two Laguna Beach High alums nearly took center stage at the Huntington Beach Open last weekend at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier. Dain Blanton, Class of 1990, and teammate Jeff Nygaard advanced to the men's semifinals where they suffered a tough, 19-21, 21-16, 17-19 loss to eventual champion Jason Ring and George Roumain. Rachel Wacholder, Class of 1993, and Angie Akers, playing for the first time as a team, reached the women's semifinals where they were eliminated by eventual champion Misty May and Kerri Walsh, 15-21, 16-21.

Rachel Wacholder returned this week to the site of one of her most stirring victories in professional beach volleyball. Beginning today and running through Sunday on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour touches down in Surf City with the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open. The event begins with today's qualifier and continues Saturday and Sunday. The men's final is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, followed at 3:30 p.m. by the women's final.

Rachel Wacholder returned to the scene of her college playing days last weekend as the former Laguna Beach High volleyball standout went to Boulder, Colo., for the 13th stop on the 2006 Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour. Wacholder and teammate Jennifer Boss, ranked third, came up with a third-place finish in the women's tournament at the Boulder Open, an event won by the top-ranked team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Wacholder and former partner Elaine Youngs defeated May-Treanor and Walsh in the women's final at last year's Boulder Open.

A week after winning the Huntington Beach Open, Rachel Wacholder and Elaine Youngs fell short of claiming the title of the Assn. of Volleyball Professional's Manhattan Beach Open on Sunday. In a Women's final that was a rematch of the Aug. 21 Huntington Beach Open final, Wacholder and Youngs, seeded second in the tournament, were edged by the No. 1 team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, 23-21, 22-20, 15-11, before a standing room only crowd. "It was really fun," Wacholder said.

HERMOSA BEACH — One of the more simple, if not exactly intimidating, nicknames for the new beach volleyball pairing of Rachel Wacholder and Kerri Walsh is “the Mom team.” Both have given birth to a baby boy since April, and they made their debut as a team this weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Hermosa Beach Open. And, while “the Mom team” showed flashes of what may be a very successful pairing for the rest of the season, No. 3-seeded Wacholder and Walsh settled for fifth at Hermosa Beach after losing to Angie Akers and Tyra Turner, 21-11, 21-10, Saturday morning.

Laguna Beach native Rachel Wacholder and partner Tyra Turnerfinished second in the Huntington Beach Open on Saturday, coming up short against champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, 21-17, 22-20. Wacholder and Turner, who completed the last of 12 tournament games in which they scored 324 points, took home $15,000. In those 12 games, Wacholder had 100 kills, 185 attacks, 65 digs, two blocks and served two aces. The duo qualified for the semifinals of the Cuervo Gold Crown series Sunday, where they lost a 25-23, 25-23 match to Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh, who took home the first-place purse and $25,000 cash prize.

MANHATTAN BEACH — Rachel Wacholder looked so relaxed last weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour Manhattan Beach Open. Comfortable under a big umbrella with friends? Check. Baby boy Koa, nearly 4 months old, in tow and garnering adoration from said friends? Check. Prime seat on the sand to watch husband and fellow AVP player Sean Scott in action? Check. Life is, well, cool. “Having a baby has been like the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.

For video of the women's final, click here. HUNTINGTON BEACH – It wasn't a surprise, really, the way the championship finals of the AVP Crocs Tour Huntington Beach Open turned out today. The top-seeded men's team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser and the No. 1 women's team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh had won the first two events of this year’s tour by claiming tournament titles in Miami and Dallas in April, and the teams were favored again to leave Surf City with tour victory No. 3. Rogers and Dalhausser were the first to reach the winner's podium at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier by sweeping the No. 3-seeded team of Brad Keenan and John Hyden, 21-14, 22-20.

The 2009 Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour kicks off this weekend, with the opening event the Panama City Beach Open in Florida. Laguna Beach High product Rachel Wacholder will be someone to watch on the women?s side. Wacholder, 33, played in 12 tournaments last year with partner Tyra Turner. They earned top-three finishes five times, including winning the San Diego event in August. The women?s game this year may be more competitive at the top, with the all-everything pair of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh expected to take the year off for family time.