Gibb and Rosie stay strong

Ross and Jen Kessy had been winless in nine AVP finals prior to breaking through last week. Sure it felt great to win, Ross said, but they remain hungry for another title, especially at a beach so close to home.

Ross said many asked the question, “How does it feel to get the monkey off your back,” after winning the AVP title last week.

“Everyone else kind of put that monkey there, but we really didn’t feel it,” said Ross, who has won three international titles with Kessy. “We knew we were playing good volleyball. We knew we were getting to the finals. We weren’t pleased with our play in the finals, up until last weekend. It was just a matter of us playing at the top of our game.”

Ross and Kessy appeared to be on top of their game Saturday, especially in the quarterfinals. The No. 2 seeds beat Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 21-14, 21-14, to advance to today’s semifinals.

The top-seeded team of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs also went undefeated Saturday to move on to the semifinals. Branagh and Youngs have been the team that has taken over the AVP Tour with Walsh and Newport Harbor product Misty May-Treanor out.

But Ross and Kessy feel like they can be that top team. In that sense they are different after winning in Houston.

They’ll try to show they’re the best today.