For April Ross, beach volleyball success is at her service

By Jesse Dougherty

Aug. 27, 2016 9:30 PM PT

April Ross is often the first on the sand before matches, and she walks toward the baseline spinning a volleyball in her hands.

With an empty court before her, she’s able to unleash jump serves with abandon. Sometimes they smack into the net. Sometimes they miss long and skip out of the playing area. Usually they fly just over the net, sink with great speed and land right inside the back line.

Then the other three players warm up, the match starts and Ross’ serve takes center stage.

“There’s zero fear or doubt going on in this woman right now,” said Kerri Walsh Jennings, Ross’ partner, after the pair advanced to the finals of the Long Beach Grand Slam on Saturday.

“So she just needs to live in that because it’s really fun to play with and she’s putting on a great show. It’s awesome.”

Walsh Jennings and Ross, the top U.S. women’s team who are coming off a bronze medal in Rio, attracted a capacity crowd for its semifinal win over Germany’s Julie Sude and Chantal Laboureur.

Every seat was filled, fans lined the aisles and a bunch more leaned on the railings along the stadium’s edges. That led to loud a cheer each time the Americans won a point, and an audible gasp each time Ross let loose another punishing serve.

As Walsh Jennings and Ross chase the Grand Slam’s $57,000 first-place prize, Ross’ jump serve has two purposes: Keeping the pair in control, and giving the home crowd something to hang on. They’ll face Spain’s Liliana Fernandez and Elsa Baquerizo in the women’s final Sunday. Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena, the top U.S. men’s team, will face Brazil’s Evandro Guerra and Pedro Solberg in the men’s championship.

“Sometimes I’m suckered in when people are cheering for me serving to go harder and harder and harder,” said Ross, a Costa Mesa native and USC graduate. “But no, I have to stay with what feels right for my serve.”

This week, that’s meant not holding anything back.

A majority of players, including Walsh Jennings, serve from a stationary position. That lets them emphasize placement and getting the ball in play, but rarely leads to the momentum-shifting aces Ross is known for.

Before each serve, the 34-year-old stands five steps behind the court and waits for Walsh Jennings’ behind-the-back sign. She then takes a deep breath, pauses for a moment and walks into a delivery that includes two steps, a quick hop and contact with the spinning ball at the peak of her underhand toss.

1/7

Sara Hughes dives while trying to save the ball during a match against Brazilians on Friday at Alamitos Beach.