Mason, OH -- The AVP Crocs Cup Shootout presented by Bud Light Mason saw the world's best Beach Volleyball teams defend their Cincinnati titles on Sunday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. In their first tournament since returning from Beijing, three of USA's Beach Volleyball teams found themselves battling it out for the title in the Mason finals. In front of an AVP Crocs Tour record-high sell-out crowd, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh unseeded two-time Olympic Gold Medalists May-Treanor/Walsh, beating the top seeds for the title and handing the champions their first loss since August 19, 2007. For the men's Olympic Champions Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, it was business as usual, beating third seeds Sean Scott and Nick Lucena in the finals, becoming "three-peat" champions, having already won the 2006 and 2007 Cincinnati titles.

The women's semi-final saw the top four seeds of the tournament face off. May-Treanor and Walsh defeated the number two seeds April Ross and Jen Boss in the first women's semi-final 21-14, 23-21. In the other semi-final match, number three seeds Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh battled it out with fourth seeds Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis. Davis/Johnson Jordan took game one 22-20 before Branagh/Youngs bounced back taking games two and three 21-19 and 15-11 to secure their spot in the finals.

Branagh/Youngs were on top of their game, besting the Olympic gold medalists in a long, hard fought three-set women's final. Branagh/Youngs won their first match 21-19, dropped the second match 10-21 and clinched the title in exciting fashion, winning 25-23. The match took 105 minutes to complete, becoming the second longest women's match in AVP history, missing the high mark by just one minute. Through it all, May-Treanor and Walsh maintain the edge with a 10-2 record in finals matches over Branagh and Youngs.

Sunday's defeat brings May-Treanor and Walsh's historic wining streak to an end at 112 consecutive match victories and 19 consecutive titles. This marks the first loss the defending world and Olympic champions have suffered in over a year. Their last loss, on August 19, 2007, was also at the hands of Branagh and Youngs. The golden duo shattered their own previous record marks of 89 straight match wins and 15 straight tournaments, set before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Men's action saw eight seeds Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings took a third place finish, dropping the semi-final match to on the top seeds Dalhausser/Rogers in the men's semi-finals 21-18, 21-17. Beijing Games fifth place finishers Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal were upset in a decisive 21-15, 21-13 defeat at the hands of third seeds Nick Lucena and Sean Scott.

Lucena/Scott made their fifth finals appearance of the 2008 season and just fell short of the title losing to Dalhausser/Rogers in two matches 21-15-21-19. The reigning World and Olympic Champions, this marks their ninth title of the 2008 AVP Crocs Tour season.

The AVP Crocs Cup Shootout presented by Bud Light series continues Sept. 6-7 in Santa Barbara, Calif. As part of the "shootout" format, only the top 24 finishers from Mason will move onto compete on the beaches of the "American Rivera."