Kiraly Injury Forces Team Out of Match

Karch Kiraly and partner Adam Johnson had to forfeit their semifinal match Sunday at the AVP men’s tour stop in Santa Barbara after Kiraly suffered a pulled groin muscle.

That opened the door for Lee LeGrande and Franco Neto, who rallied from a 14-6 deficit in the final to defeat Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers, 16-14.

Kiraly and Johnson, who live in San Clemente, were only a few points into their match against Stein Metzger and Dana Point’s Brent Doble when Kiraly had to pull out with the injury.

With the forfeit, Metzger and Doble advanced to the winner’s bracket final, where they were defeated by LeGrande and Neto, 15-5. Metzger and Doble were later eliminated by Holdren and Rogers, 15-9.

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Laguna Beach High graduate Dain Blanton and partner Eric Fonoimoana finished ninth at the FIVB men’s tour stop at Stavanger, Norway, but failed to improve on their third-place standing in the U.S. Olympic qualification rankings. They trail Kiraly and Johnson by 18 points for the final berth.