Men's, women's top seeds claim championships at 2015 AVP New Orl - FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans News, Weather, Sports, Social

In the first professional volleyball tournament in the New Orleans area since 1999, the top-seeded women's team of Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross and the top-seeded men's team of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson took home the titles in their respective fields in the 2015 Association of Volleyball Professionals New Orleans Open.

It was the eighth tournament win in a row for the team of Walsh Jennings and Ross, who topped the third-seeded team of Jennifer Kessy and Emily Day 21-16, 22-20 in the finals.

Walsh Jennings and Ross swept through their five matches en route to winning the title. The duo have now won 42 consecutive sets, which dates back to August. It was Walsh Jennings's 74th AVP win and her 125th worldwide for the three-time Olympic Gold Medalist.

It was the fourth-straight tournament victory for Gibb and Patterson and ninth in 16 tournaments, according to an AVP spokesperson. The duo defeated the second-seeded team of Phil Dalhausser and Sean Rosenthal 23-21, 21-14 to win the men's title.

Thousands came out to Kenner's Laketown, to witness the three-day event over the holiday weekend. Friday's play was canceled due to heavy rains that moved through the area on Thursday.

The New Orleans Open was the season-opening tournament for the AVP. The players will return to competition on June 15 during the FIVB St. Petersburg Grand Slam in Florida. The week-long event is an Olympic qualifying tournament, sponsored by the AVP as part of the Federation Internationlae de Volleyball World Tour.

Copyright 2015 WVUE. All rights reserved.