Third place for pair

Former Laguna Beach High girls’ volleyball standout Rachel Wacholder and her teammate, Elaine Youngs, finished in a third-place tie last weekend at the Assn. Of Volleyball Professional’s Birmingham-Hoover Open in Hoover, Al.

The No. 2-ranked team of Wacholder and Youngs have reached the semifinal round in each of the nine tournaments played in the 2006 AVP Crocs Tour.

The duo earned $8,500 for the third-place finish.

In winner’s bracket play, Wacholder and Youngs defeated No. 31 Elsa Binder/Charnette Fair, 21-12, 21-15, the No. 18 team of Ann Windes/Saralyn Smith, 21-10, 21-13, No. 7 Carrie Dodd/Barbra Fontana, 22-20, 21-19 and survived No. 3 Nicole Branagh/Holly McPeak, 22-20, 21-18, to advance to the semifinal round.

In the semis, Wacholder and Youngs fell to the No. 1-team of Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, 21-17, 21-16.

May-Treanor/Walsh went on to win the women’s tournament, defeating Branagh/McPeak in Sunday’s final, 21-15, 21-12.

On the men’s side, former Laguna Beach High star Dain Blanton and his partner, Matt Prosser, finished tied for ninth.

Blanton and Prosser, seeded No. 16, defeated No. 7 Scott Davenport/Scott Lane, 14-21, 21-19, 15-12, in their first match in winner’s bracket play. They lost a close match in the second round to No. 1-seed Mike Lambert/Stein Metzger, 21-15, 16-21, 16-14.

They came back in contender’s bracket action to defeat No. 18 Mike DiPierro/Steve Grotowski, 21-18, 21-10, No. 10 Nick Lucena/Sean Rooney, 21-15, 16-21, 16-14, before being eliminated from title contention by No. 14 Eric Fonoimoana/George Roumain, 23-21, 21-16.

The No. 2 team of Phil Dalhauser/Todd Rogers defeated No. 6 Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, 21-14, 17-21, 15-11, in the men’s final.

The tour continues today, Saturday and Sunday with the AVP McDonald’s Chicago Open.