Youngs and Branagh win women's beach volleyball tournament

QUINCY, Mass. -- Elaine Youngs figured the way things had gone against Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh that she had to take a chance.

Youngs served out the match with a perfectly placed shot on the right sideline, giving her and teammate Nicole Branagh a 15-21, 21-19, 16-14 victory in the women's finals of the inaugural AVP Boston Open beach volleyball tournament Sunday afternoon.

"To be perfectly honest, I said I'm going to gage Kerri," Youngs said. "I saw an opening and I went for it."

Youngs and Branagh, the tourney's second seeds, upset the tops seeds, ending Walsh and May-Treanor's stretch of 10 consecutive tourney titles.

"Apparently there was an emotional letdown," said Walsh, who used her 6-foot, 3-inch frame to block a number of shots at the net.

"We didn't want it to happen," Walsh said of their self-described lackluster play. "Something wasn't there. I just feel like it was a fluke for us."

It was the third AVP title for Branagh and Youngs, and halted Walsh and May-Treanor's 39-match winning streak. The champs were just 1-5 in finals play against Walsh and May-Treanor.

"It's great to be in a final against Misty and Kerri and win," Youngs said. "They're unbelievable."

The second game was tied at 11-all before Youngs and Branagh won six of the next eight points to take control. They adjusted their serves to change the momentum.

"I thought they served well," May-Treanor said.

In the final game, Branagh and Youngs fell behind 7-3 early before battling back to 7-6. Neither team held more than a two-point edge until the final serve.

"She said, 'I want to serve for us (to win),"' Branagh said of her teammate.

The tourney was played along the docks in a city a few miles south of Boston, and had a big Red Sox' theme with the team's marketing group having a big role in the event. The stadium's PA announcer, wearing a green Red Sox jersey, made numerous references to David Ortiz, the team's star slugger, and the 2004 World Series victory to get near capacity crowd to cheer louder.

"The fans have been great," Youngs said of Boston's first AVP volleyball tourney since 1995. "They love their Red Sox. They love their Patriots, and they love beach volleyball."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)