Manhattan Beach Open lacks a little luster, but rolls on

So Manhattan Beach pulled it off, hosting the 50th annual Manhattan Beach Open this weekend. When the AVP caved, the city and California Beach Volleyball Association stepped up.

But only a handful of the game's stars showed up. Olympian Sean Rosenthal, who hails from nearby Redondo Beach, is the most notable, and he's playing with fellow AVP player and Redondo native, Aaron Wachtfogel. Rosie's regular partner, Jake Gibb, was among the majority of AVP standouts to skip the event in protest to the tournament's old-school/dated rules -- sideout scoring, bigger courts, one game to 15.

Rosenthal and Wachtfogel, the top men's seed, played as expected and went unbeaten on Saturday, reaching the semifinals of the winner's bracket. Rosenthal and Gibb won last year's Manhattan Beach Open, their only AVP win of the year.

The top women's seed, AVP players Priscilla Lima and Angela Lewis, also cruised in the winner's bracket semis. The pros used to the short court and rally scoring admitted some frustration with the different rules.

Winners will be determined Sunday, with the winning team's splitting $4,000.

The top U.S. teams -- Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser on the men's side, Jen Kessy/April Ross on the women's -- stayed overseas after the demise of the AVP to play on the FIVB World Tour. Rogers and Dalhausser won a record-breaking ninth title of the year Sunday, while Kessy and Ross took fifth Friday.