In their first AVP win since Huntington Beach in May, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers looked different than they had the past two and a half months on the Tour.

Simply put, they looked like the Phil and Todd of old: two-time defending Tour champs and 2008 Olympic gold medalists.

Behind Rogers’ 28 kills and 20 digs and Dalhausser’s four blocks, the top-seeded duo got back in the win column at with a three-game 18-21, 21-15, 15-9 victory over second-seeded John Hyden and Sean Scott at Hermosa Beach.

Rogers credits the team’s recent turnaround to a tide-turning tournament in Marseilles, France, where two weekends ago he and Dalhausser won an FIVB World Series Grand Slam event.

“We played one of the best, if not the best, we’ve ever played in Marseille, the entire tournament,” the player/coach said. “(Phil) was on with the serve, block was great, setting was great, my passing was great, siding out was great, defense was great. It just felt like every facet of the game we were just clicking on. And we took that into Austria. Then we took it on over to here.”

After winning the FIVB’s World Series Grand Slam event in Austria last weekend, Dalhausser and Rogers made it three straight victories Sunday. Including international competition, the team has an 18-match winning streak. What’s more, they became the first team ever to win four straight Hermosa Beach Opens after eight different teams had won from 1998-2005.

“I didn’t realize it had never been done before,” Dalhausser said of the four-year Hermosa Beach winning streak, ironic considering he didn’t qualify for the Hermosa Beach main draw in 2003 and hasn’t missed a main draw since. “What feels even better is getting back on the podium.”

Getting back on the podium proved challenging in more ways than one. First off, Dalhausser and Rogers had to conquer arguably the strongest field the Tour has featured this season.

Dalhausser noted a critical match-up adjustment enabled him and Rogers to defeat Matt Olson and Kevin Wong Saturday after losing to them July 19 in the Manhattan Beach semifinals. “I just can’t block Matt,” Dalhausser said. “So I went to Kevin, and we ended up winning.”

Sunday, Hyden and Scott proved to pose an equal if not greater threat. “They play me better than anyone else,” Rogers said of the AVP’s second-place team. “Those guys read me better than anyone else in the world.”

Hyden and Scott also had a good read on Dalhausser. Scott’s presence at the net, as illustrated by four blocks in the title match, contributed to Dalhausser’s sub-par .286 hitting percentage.

On top of taking down tremendous competition, Dalhausser and Rogers overcame their emotions to win the title. Immediately preceding the final, a tribute to the life of AVP legend Mike Whitmarsh left few dry eyes in Stadium Court.

“I had to wipe some tears away then get ready for the finals,” Rogers said. “When I came out, Whitty was an icon. He was Phil before Phil was Phil.”

“He was the first big man and he changed the game,” Dalhausser said of Whitmarsh, who passed away in February at age 46. “It pulled at your heartstrings.”

Showing some heart of their own, Dalhausser and Rogers returned to the win column for their fifth victory in nine AVP events this season. They’ll look to stay hot as the Tour heads up the coast to San Francisco next weekend.