BOULDER — With Folsom Field feeling like an “oven” Saturday, beach volleyball players Stein Metzger and partner Mark Williams sizzled in the men’s final of the AVP Crocs Tour Boulder Slam tournament .
The duo, seeded No. 3, captured its first title together and Williams’ first professional win by defeating No. 5-seeded Anthony Medel and Fred Souza 21-17, 21-15.
“I was extra motivated today because I wanted to see Williams get his first win. And it happened,” Metzger said. “It’s a pleasure to see someone celebrate for their first time out.”
Metzger walked away with his 18th AVP title. He also won in Boulder in 2006 .
Williams was happy about finally getting over the hump.
“It feels great,” Williams said. “It was a while. I had the most third-place finishes without making the finals.”
Metzger and Williams dominated early on, taking the first set 21-17 .
Solid defensive plays at the net by Williams helped seal the victory, ending the game with five blocks.
“My game plan was having Mark block 20 balls, so I don’t have to do anything,” Metzger said jokingly.
Poor hitting and costly mistakes prevented Medel and Souza from making a comeback.
“They both could get really hot, so we were going to serve one ball, each time, back and forth, until one of them made an error,” Metzger said. “We stuck with it and it worked.”
Playing in a football stadium presented challenges.
“It’s kind of like an oven down here in the stadium,” Williams said. “There’s no breeze going back and forth.”
Metzger said they had to make adjustments during the match, because “the ball carries longer when you serve,” but he admitted he enjoyed playing in the outdoor stadium.
“There’s still enough air coming in, so it’s not too crazy,” Metzger said. “I like it.”
Coming into the season, Metzger and his former partner, Mike Lambert, were hoping to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
However, Lambert was injured, dashing those hopes.
“I am disappointed,” said Metzger, who competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. “It was a childhood dream of ours to go to the Olympics together. We grew up together in high school. We talked about it as kids when we were in high school.
“That’s life and we move on,” Metzger said.
With Williams’ and Metzger’s first title as a team under their belt, the two look forward to what their future holds after struggling early in the season.
“It’s nice that we can make a commitment to play the rest of the year, and the very first tournament we play in, once we make the commitment, we win,” Metzger said.
“It’s a really great feeling, and it makes it feel like we’ve really made the right decisions,” Metzger said.
Yvette Lanier: 303-954-1033 or ylanier@denverpost.com
