CHARLESTON -- April Ross was on fire as she and Jennifer Boss quickly dispatched Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder, the No. 2 team, during the evening beach volleyball quarterfinals at the AVP 2008 Crocs Tour on May 9.
It was a high impact way to start and finish the first match of the evening, as the No. 3 seeded duo won 21-17, 21-13 showcasing some serious technique.
"I got into a groove blocking, April got into a groove digging," Boss said. "She was so gnarly."
The team was relentless and never let up, leading throughout the match. Boss admitted to making few errors, adding that her partner's serving was "unbelievable." They are currently third in Olympic qualifying points and will go on to the semifinals to face the winner of the Dianne DeNecochea and Barbra Fontana battle in the contender's game against No. 7 seed Carrie Dodd and Tatiana Minello. Turner and Wacholder will also head to the contender's bracket to battle it out with No. 4 seed Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annet Davis. The winner will advance to Saturday's semifinal and the loser will place fifth in the tournament. Turner and Wacholder are currently fourth to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
At the end of evening, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, the No. 1 team, defeated fifth seeded DeNecochea and Fontana after an initial scare by 21-17, 17-21, 15-9.
"It was a little slow in the first set but we just found it in ourselves," Branagh said. "In the first match, I wasn't hitting. But we didn't crumble we stuck to it and picked up. Elaine did a great job."
The number one team now advances to semifinals to play the victor of the Davis-Johnson Jordan match against Turner and Wacholder.
The "groove" seemed to be the theme of the evening on Friday night at the Circle Cup Tennis Center on Daniel Island. The crowd received a little something extra, having the opportunity to see the Beach Girls in their debut performance. The troupe is a double-threat singing, dancing pop quintet designed to perk up the audience between matches with funky dance moves and some original songs to entertain the whole family.
The ticket holders were then pleased by the invincible team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. It was no surprise they advanced to the semifinal after defeating No. 4 seed Nick Lucena and Sean Scott 21-16, 21-15. The popular Dalhausser was ever present at the net to block while Rogers powered his serves through. Lucena and Scott will face the winner of the Pedro Brazao/Jose Loiola match against Matt Olson and Kevin Wong for fifth place. Tonight was a poignant loss for Lucena, however, as he was Dalhausser's first partner when he started playing the tour. The two lived with Adam Roberts in Myrtle Beach before Dalhausser started his professional career in beach volleyball.
Dalhausser and Rogers have not lost a game the whole year, which puts them on schedule to win their fourth event in a row without dropping a match.
Both Dalhausser/Rogers and Branagh/Youngs have won all of their games so far in the Holy City. They are eighth in the race to qualify for Beijing.
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