May, McPeak Continue Winning Streak

Misty May and Holly McPeak won their third consecutive tournament title, defeating Tania Gooley and Pauline Manser of Australia, 7-12, 12-2, 12-8, in the final of the FIVB’s $150,000 German Open women’s beach volleyball tournament Sunday in Berlin.

May, formerly of Newport Harbor High and Long Beach State, played with a stomach muscle injury, but she and McPeak still won the final in 1 hour 46 minutes to claim the $26,000 first prize.

May and McPeak, who have won 24 consecutive matches, won the FIVB event in Chicago July 4 and the Beach Volleyball America event in Seal Beach July 9.

May and McPeak are No. 2 on the U.S. Olympic qualification ranking list, moving ahead of Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs, formerly of El Toro High. Masakayan and Youngs finished 17th this weekend.

May and McPeak have earned 2,402 Olympic ranking points. Masakayan and Youngs are third in the U.S. at 2,284. Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, who finished fifth this weekend, have 2,574 and are ranked No. 1.

The top two teams qualify for the Olympics.

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In the men’s FIVB event in Lignano, Italy, top-seeded Ze’Marco deMelo and Ricardo Santos of Brazil defeated Switzerland’s Martin Laciga and his brother Paul, 15-3, to win the $150,000 Italy Open.

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Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers defeated Lee LeGrande and Franco Neto, 15-8, to win the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals event in Muskegon, Mich., Sunday.

San Clemente’s Adam Johnson--playing without his usual partner Karch Kiraly, who was out with an injured groin muscle--teamed with San Juan Capistrano’s Adam Jewell to finish 13th.

Huntington Beach’s Brian Lewis and David Swatik finished ninth. Lewis’ former partner Canyon Ceman teamed with Mike Whitmarsh to finish fourth.

Dana Point’s Brent Doble and Stein Metzger finished third.