The gold-medal match is scheduled for Wednesday night.
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The three-time gold medalist and partner April Ross advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament in a midnight match, dispatching Italy 21-10, 21-16 in just 35 minutes.
She’s also had as much success off the beach as she’s had on it.
Should she win a medal, Walsh Jennings would be the most decorated athlete – male or female – in beach volleyball.
The gold medal matchup is set. May-Treanor retired after London, so Walsh Jennings is in Rio with Ross, who won the silver in 2012.
Brazil now has a men’s and women’s team playing for gold at the Rio Games. The others are Canadians Jayna Hefford and Hayley Wickenheiser in hockey and American Lisa Leslie in basketball. While Walsh Jennings turns to her power when she gets in trouble in a set, the Brazilians are more likely to rely on guile, favoring drop shots, floaters, and low-angle touches to find the weak spots in an opponent’s defense. The blocking from Walsh Jennings, ideal digs and unforced errors from the Australians produced the Americans a 17-12 lead. “Together, we’re really tough to beat”.
It was the third time in four matches the Americans played at midnight to showcase them for the US television audience. The scheduled Rio Olympics football.
They will now play Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas in Tuesday’s semifinals. A victory would send the Americans to the final against the German duo of Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, who upset Brazilians Larissa and Talita in the first semifinal.
“That’s one of the biggest things I love about the Olympics”, she said. “We are pretty clear on that focus”. The second set saw Agatha and Barbara lead the whole way, befuddling the USA side with a combination of tricky offense and dazzling defense.
“Too bad they showed their very best at the right moments”, Zumkehr said. But Walsh Jennings is far from finished.
“It’s just a little bump in the road, something that obviously I wish I didn’t have to deal with”. Recently the International Olympic Committee changed the rules to include shorts and tank tops as part of the required attire. ‘They play at a high level and every time I caught a glimpse they seemed so into it and when we won they seemed so proud’. Passes were off, and kills that were converted on such a consistent basis were either off the mark or blocked by Agatha and Barbara.
But when the Aussie attended the Beijing Games as a spectator, seeing world class athletes inspired her to return to the sport, though opting to make the switch to sand.
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Can Walsh Jennings and Ross rebound for the bronze, even though the world knows that was something the senior member of the team never honestly considered?
