McPeak and Youngs strike gold at FIVB China tourney

It took 18 events, but Holly McPeak finally tied Karolyn Kirby as the winningest women's player in pro beach volleyball history on Sunday (May 30), as she teamed with Elaine Youngs to capture the gold medal in an All-American finale of the $180,000 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event in Shanghai, China.

In addition to sharing the $27,000 first-place prize, McPeak and Youngs regained the second spot on the United States' Olympic qualifying list for the 2004 Athens Games from Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan as they defeated their American rivals 21-17 and 21-13 for the gold medal at the fourth international event of the 2004 season.

In tying Kirby's record of 67 pro beach championships, McPeak now owns or shares the three women's career marks for event titles, tournaments played (228) and earnings as she increased her all-time winnings to $1,206,201, including $600,479 domestically and $605,722 internationally

The gold medal finish was McPeak and Youngs' first pro beach title since winning a domestic stop last June in San Diego. During the 18-event span, McPeak and Youngs had played in 10 title matches. In their first 19 pro beach events together, the pair had captured 10 titles, including four in 2002 on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour. McPeak and Youngs' last international title was the 2002 season finale in Vitoria, Brazil.

By advancing to the FIVB championship match, both American tandems erased previous 180-point finishes from their Olympic slates. McPeak and Youngs finished Sunday with 360 points to improve their Olympic qualifying total to 2,734. Davis and Johnson Jordan have now compiled 2,702 points after finishing the event with 324 team points.

The United States' Misty May and Kerri Walsh, who missed this weekend's SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event to participate in a domestic event in Southern California, are the No. 1 ranked team in the world on the Olympic qualifying list with 3,900 points from their best eight finishes on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour since January 2003.

"We had a great week," said McPeak before the award's ceremony as the match was played in a light rain at the Jinshan Beach Volleyball Complex before an overflowing crowd of 4,000. "Elaine did a lot of blocking in every match, which made my job much easier." Never extended to a three-set match this week, McPeak and Youngs won each set by an average score of 21.0-14.3.

The 34-minute finale also marked the first-time since 1995 that two teams from United States played for international pro beach volleyball titles in back-to-back events. The gold medal match was also the 17th-time the two teams have played with McPeak and Youngs holding a commanding 13-4 edge. Youngs has now won 25 pro beach titles.

McPeak played a part in the string of successive All-USA international finales in 1995 as she teamed with Nancy Reno to win three-straight FIVB events in Korea, Japan and Portugal. The pair defeated American rivals Karolyn Kirby and Liz Masakayan in the Korean final before downing Linda Hanley and Angela Rock for the titles in Japan and Portugal.

For McPeak and Youngs, it was their second-straight gold medal match after losing the finale last Sunday to American May and Walsh in Rhodes, Greece. For Davis and Johnson Jordan, it is their first appearance in a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour title match since July 2000 in France when they defeated Brazil's Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar, who captured the bronze medal Sunday by defeating ninth-seeded Lu Wang and Whenhui You of China 24-22 and 21-17.

The third-seeded McPeak and Youngs, who have now won 11 of their last 12 international matches, advanced to the finals with a 21-16 and 21-15 win Lu Wang/Whenhui You. Davis and Johnson Jordan, who were seeded fourth this week, earned a title shot with a 21-19 and 21-18 win over the top-seeded Shelda and Adriana.

Davis and Johnson Jordan, who split $18,000 for the silver medal finish, avenged a 23-25, 21-16 and 15-11 setback to Shelda and Adriana in last week's bronze medal match in Greece. Davis and Johnson Jordan have now won three of 15 meetings against the Brazilians, including the 2000 win in France and a victory last September in Los Angeles.

Competing in their 70th event together, Davis and Johnson Jordan were also seeking their first pro beach championship since 2002 when they captured back-to-back domestic events in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Chicago. Overall, the pair has won eight pro titles with two international wins in Portugal (1999) and France (2000). On the all-time team earnings list, Davis and Johnson Jordan rank third ($692,045) behind Shelda/Adriana ($1,656,815) and May/Walsh ($802,990). McPeak and Youngs are sixth on that list ($530,565).

May and Walsh, who are competing this weekend in an AVP Tour stop in Huntington Beach, will also miss the next SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event in Japan before returning to international play for the final three Olympic qualifying events in Switzerland, Germany and Norway. The McPeak/Youngs and Davis/Johnson Jordan tandems are also scheduled to miss the Japanese event to compete in the domestic Manhattan Beach event with May and Walsh.

After defeating McPeak and Youngs in the Rhodes title match last Sunday along with winning three matches Saturday in Huntington Beach, May and Walsh have now won 83-straight pro beach matches enroute to their 14th-straight title. Combined with three domestic titles in Florida, Arizona and Texas, May and Walsh have now won five titles this season.

For more information on FIVB beach volleyball, go to the FIVB web site.