MASON, Ohio -- Elaine Youngs feels a little overlooked. She said she's not being belligerent, mind you, but with the overwhelming star power that the teams of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers received for their Olympic gold medal triumphs, Youngs feels that she and teammate Nicole Branagh have been disregarded a bit.

That's why, if she had her druthers, she would create her own storybook championship victory here at the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout in Mason.

"It's tough we weren't medallists," Youngs said. "Kerry, Misty, Todd and Phil, they deserve everything that's coming their way, but sometimes you feel like the stepchildren. We're not complaining about it, but we go everywhere, and people say, 'Oh, you play beach volleyball? Are you the American Olympic team?' I say, 'Yes, but we aren't Walsh and May.' And they go, 'Aw.' It's a little disappointing, but we had so much fun. Hopefully we get our chance to get Misty and Kerry for our own gold medal match."

Youngs and Branagh -- the No. 3 seeded team -- are en route for that possible showdown.

They played the most exciting match of the Saturday evening session, overcoming a first-set deficit and rallying to beat the second-seeded squad of Jennifer Boss and April Ross 21-23, 21-18, 18-16 to make Sunday's semifinals.

It left Youngs pretty excited. "We've been traveling and it's going to be tough on us, but we're happy," Young said. "We had fun. Our goal in this tournament is to play one point at a time, have fun with each other and not put too much pressure on ourselves."

Branagh needed to feel better first. On Friday, she was suffering the effects of heat exhaustion, but she rested most of Saturday and stayed hydrated. By the time she and Youngs took the court, she said she felt fine.

They needed every bit of energy she could muster.

Youngs and Branagh held off two set points in the first. But Youngs let Ross' final serve pass -- hoping it'd hit out of bounds -- and, instead, it hit the line, giving Boss and Ross the first frame.

In the next set, though, Youngs tried something different.

"Yeah, that little floating serve," Youngs said. "I thought I'd do something I've never done against them, which was the float serve. The last time we played them, I strained my calf in the first point of the tournament. I couldn't serve and block in that one. This time we could, and that's one of our strengths. I serve and run to the net and let Nicole stay back and play defense."

The strategy paid off, allowing Youngs and Branagh to win the second set, and in the third set, the pair finished the job.

Tied at 16-16 in that deciding set, Ross' serve hit the net and bounced over, but Youngs saved it and, after a Branagh set, killed it.

"I felt like Phil Dalhausser," Youngs said. "He usually makes plays like that, because he's got really good hands. The ball hit the net and the only thing I had time to do was hit what we call a spatch -- like a spatula. I hit it in the air, and Nicole made a great set and I put it down. That's game-saving, lucky, whatever you want to call it, but I like to call it good."

Then, on the fourth match point, Branagh's serve hit the net and trickled over, giving them the victory.

"We had an angel on our side," Branagh said. "I don't know. I was just trying to make a good serve. It kept going back and forth and we got a lucky break on that serve."

Nothing lucky about the performance of the top-seeded men's team of Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. Although No. 12 seeds John Mayer and Jeff Nygaard had played well during this tournament, Dalhausser and Rogers had no problems, blasting their way into the semifinals 21-13, 21-14.

"They had been playing well for most of the year," Rogers said. "They play well together which is something they were both searching for. That's a good team - a good veteran guy and a good young guy."

Not good enough Saturday night, though.

"I've felt really good the last couple games," Rogers said. "I'm running around, playing defense and feeling like I can get almost anything."

Which is quite the opposite of the way Kerri Walsh is feeling.

Although Walsh and Misty May-Treanor dominated the fourth-seeded team of Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson-Jordan 21-18, 21-11, Walsh still doesn't feel in sync.

"I'm excited for us to kick back without feeling like we're in rhythm and feeling a little bit off," Walsh said. "Misty is playing great. I just need to figure some things out on my own. I'm all over the place. I feel like I'm swimming in mud."

Sunday, Walsh decided, will be the day she gets herself together. "It's coming," Walsh said. "I feel great. I just want to play better, that's all."