SAN FRANCISCO -- Her nickname may be "Six Feet of Sunshine," but by her own admission Kerri Walsh has been something other than bright and cheerful these last two weeks.

Returning to the AVP Tour last month with almost no break to decompress from winning a second Olympic gold medal, Walsh and partner Misty May-Treanor saw their streak of consecutive victories come to an end at 112 matches. They lost in the finals at Cincinnati -- the first time in 20 tournaments they failed to claim the crown -- and even more shockingly were knocked off in the semis last weekend in Santa Barbara.

"I've been so just grumpy and really anxious the last couple of weeks -- I don't know why, maybe because there's so much going on -- but you're not going to win like that," Walsh said. "You're not going to have fun, the energy's not going to be there. So I'm going to change my attitude."

The attitude adjustment didn't come as good news for Carrie Dodd and Tatiana Minello, the No. 8 seeds. Top-seeded Walsh and May-Treanor were in control for much of the way in a 21-16, 21-19 victory Friday in their opening match at the AVP Crocs Tour San Francisco.

"I think it's a great start," Walsh said. "I think we just beat a really good team pretty handily, but obviously we need to keep stepping up our game every single match because the competition gets tougher and tougher."

Fans who watched Walsh and May-Treanor sweep through the field in Beijing without dropping a set might have thought the pair would keep rolling in similar fashion Stateside, but the experience -- though fantastic -- was also emotionally draining.

"I explain it like this: It's like my husband's team, if they would win the World Series and then have 15 regular-season games after that," said May-Treanor, whose husband Matt plays for the Florida Marlins. "I enjoy being out here, but it is tough to expect to come out and stay at your peak (after an Olympic win)."

There are physical reasons for the problems as well. Thanks to the exposure from Beijing, May-Treanor and Walsh have found their off-court calendars filling up to the brim, from award receptions to the former's famous foray into "Dancing With The Stars" territory to the simple crush of excited fans who want a picture or autograph.

"It's been overwhelming, and I think every little thing plays a part," Walsh said. "You have a million people pulling you in a million directions, and you're trying to keep your head on and enjoy the whole opportunity, but at the same time, you're trying to compete and do your job."

The means they haven't had time to practice together the last two weeks. Instead, Walsh worked out with Holly McPeak, Angie Akers and Carrie Dodd this week; the fun and excitement of getting into practice mode made her feel "like a little girl again."

"Misty and I see each other right when we get on site, and then we have an hour warmup, and that hour warmup needs to be like a week of practice," Walsh said. "We've been doing this for a long time, so hopefully we can figure it out."

The next step in that process comes Saturday afternoon, when Walsh and May-Treanor face No. 4 seeds Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan.

"It's not about motivation, it's not about having a heart-to-heart," Walsh said. "We know where each other are on the court. We just need to put it together and play like we can."