Sand dollars

If money does indeed talk, then there was a palpable buzz going on Sunday at the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open.

A $100,000 bonus bonanza seemed to weigh heavily on the shoulders of two teams, created a “win-win” situation for a third and perhaps motivated a fourth to put on a devastating show against one of those winners.

“There was a lot at stake this weekend here in Huntington Beach,” said Leonard Armato, commissioner of the Assn. Of Volleyball Professionals.

The Huntington Beach Open, the third of 18 stops along the 2007 AVP Crocs Tour, concluded Sunday on the south side of the pier with championship title matches for the men and women. In addition, the tournament was the third and final event in the Cuervo Gold Crown series that began in Miami and moved to Dallas last month.

The men’s and women’s teams that accumulated the most points during those three events, would earn an additional $100,000 from Cuervo Gold.

In the first final Sunday, the No. 2 seeded team of Mike Lambert (Costa Mesa)/Stein Metzger (Manhattan Beach), pulled away from No. 3-seed Jake Gibb (Costa Mesa)/Sean Rosenthal (Manhattan Beach), 21-17, 21-18, in a match that took less than an hour to complete.

Lambert and Metzger won the men’s tournament the hard way: They lost a first-round match but battled back through the contender’s bracket to win the title. They are just one of seven teams to play nine or more matches in a single tournament, according to AVP tour records kept since 2002.

The pair is just the third team to win a tournament after having played that many matches and also became the only known team to bounce back from a first-round loss to win the title.

The match wasn’t all that Gibb and Rosenthal — who seemed to be the crowd favorite — lost Sunday. They were in line to claim one of two $100,000 checks in addition to the $20,000 prize that went to the team that won the open, with a victory. Instead, the duo settled for second-place and $15,000.

The $100,000 check ended up in the hands of the men’s top-seeded team of Phil Dalhausser (Santa Barbara)/Todd Rogers (Solvang), whom Gibb and Rosenthal had defeated in a semifinal match also played Sunday. Dalhausser and Rogers also split $9,500 for their third-place finish.

Dalhausser and Rogers kept an eye on the men’s final from afar.

“I know exactly how Jake and Rosey feel right now,” Dalhausser said. “We had that same feeling when we lost to them. We thought we’d lost out on $100,000.

“I’d have much rather been on the sand playing for it than watching from the sidelines and having it out of our hands,” he said. “I’ve never been so nervous sitting there watching a match. I just bought my first place and this will go toward my down payment.”

In the women’s match that followed, Kerri Walsh (Redondo Beach)/Misty May-Treanor (Coral Beach, Fla.) showed why they are the top-ranked team in the world and wasted little time in disposing of No. 2-seed Elaine Youngs (Durango, Colo.)/Nicole Branagh (Hermosa Beach), 21-13, 21-13.

Walsh and May-Treanor successfully defended their Huntington title and won the event for the fourth time overall since 2002.

Before the start of the women’s match, the two $100,000 checks were presented to men’s and women’s point-total winners on the south side of the playing court, while Walsh and May-Treanor warmed-up on the other side. Youngs and Branagh took the stage, having already secured the women’s $100,000 check just by having advanced to the final.

They also received $15,000 more for their runner-up finish following Sunday’s loss, proving that you can win for losing: Their total earnings for the day turned out to be the most lucrative day for any team in AVP history.

Walsh and May-Treanor took $20,000 by winning the tournament.

“It was kind of a blow to us that we had no chance,” May-Treanor, who starred at Newport Harbor High and Long Beach State, said of the $100,000 bonus. “We wanted to win this match.

“Huntington is one of the best, if not the best, spots for us. Kerri and I started our partnership here,” she said.

For the first time, admission was charged for the Huntington Beach Open with ticket prices ranging from $10 to $20.

“We couldn’t be happier with the way the weekend turned out,” Armato said. “We’re back on the beach and there’s nothing like Huntington Beach, which has such a rich beach volleyball tradition.

“We didn’t have a drop-off in attendance, either. If you want to support beach volleyball as a professional sport, then you’ll do it. This city has always been very supportive of beach volleyball and the tournaments we stage here. It’s an awesome city for such an event.”