MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. -- Morning routines are established to help prevent uncertainty, but as the No. 1 seed of Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor found out this morning in their three set loss to No. 4 seed Jen Boss and April Ross 24-22, 15-21 and 15-11, nothing is predictable anymore.

"Anytime in this round, you are excited to win, no matter who you play," said Boss.

The outcome of this one-hour-and-four-minute match may have been surprising to the die-hard fans in attendance for the 8 am match, but for those close to the sport it wasn't completely unpredictable.

"You have to give credit to Ross and Boss because they are playing extremely well," said AVP legend Holly McPeak. "They had a lot of clean side-outs in the third set to win that. I feel like Kerri and Misty have exhaled after the Olympics and their intensity is just not there. They've lost a little and it's natural. They pushed hard for eight years and no one beat them for a long time. Also, they've had a target on their backs so teams are stepping up and playing them well. They slipped a little bit in their intensity in doing other things and their focus is not 100% volleyball now and I think that's affecting them."

Boss and Ross's win this morning may look like an upset to outsiders, but for this up-and-coming team that has been finishing in the top five all season long, it's all part of the overall game plan.

"In the first set we made sure we were super focused, being aggressive with our serves and being consistent," said Ross.

"For the first seven points I couldn't side out and we were out of rhythm," said Boss. "Kerri also started serving a little bit tougher and I wasn't ready for it. Before that we were passing and setting perfect. When you don't pass well you are not going to get a great set and then it's hard to side out against that team. In the third set we just played like we did in the first set."

While Boss and Ross get to rest a little, Walsh and May-Treanor will now have to fight their way through the contender's bracket -- a place where they have been three times (2004 Chicago, 2006 Birmingham and 2007 Hermosa Beach) and come through each time to win the tournament.

"It feels good, but we know that at this point in the tournament it is just another win," said Ross. "It saves us from having to play a match, but we still have to win two more to reach our goal."

Other upsets this morning included No. 3 seed Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan defeating No. 2 seed Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs 21-18, 21-13 and No. 7 seed Matt Olson and Kevin Wong over No. 2 seed Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 21-19, 10-21 and 15-13.