Gibb and Rosenthal moving up

The second-place finishes are beginning to pile up for Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, a stack of runner-up trophies that’s both a blessing and a curse at the same time.

After all, there are plenty of teams that would like to have four consecutive finals appearances in AVP Pro Beach Volleyball tournaments. Still there are few that want the dubious record of 0-4 in those matches.

Gibb and Rosenthal stayed on track for another finals appearance when they won three matches Saturday at the Hermosa Beach Open. They will play Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger at 8 a.m. today with a spot in the final four on the line.

“There’s nothing really negative about it,” Rosenthal said. “We’re playing well, we’re giving ourselves opportunities to win and we’re just coming up a little bit short.”

The team won the 2006 season opener -- their first tournament paired together -- but they haven’t won an AVP tournament since. They won an international event in Mexico in October, but have placed second nine times in 20 tournaments together.

Saturday, they seemed in rhythm, giving up more than 16 points only once -- a performance Rosenthal called their best opening day of the season.

“We haven’t played our best, I don’t think, all year, let alone in the finals,” he said. “Eventually the dam is going to break and we’re going to get ourselves a lot of wins.”

Kevin Wong and Karch Kiraly, who is playing in his final Hermosa Beach Open before retiring after the season, lost in the third round, but recovered and advanced through the loser’s bracket, leaving fans hopeful that there might be some magic left in Kiraly’s 46-year-old body.

In the women’s bracket, top-seeded Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh went unbeaten, keeping alive May-Treanor’s attempt to become the all-time leader in women’s victories.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com