The Brazilian team have a 4-1 game advantage over Walsh Jennings and Ross to date. And in the middle of the second set, Walsh Jennings found her inner gnarly self.
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“I wanted to go with Kerri or with no one”, Ross told San Jose Mercury News. I knew they were going to come at me, and I knew they were going to put some stuff on the ball, and I just didn’t stick my passes.
When asked if she would cherish the bronze as much as the gold, she answered: “Times a million”.
The women’s beach volleyball semifinal between Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk of Brazil – celebrities simply referred to as Barbara and Agatha in these parts – and Kerri Walsh-Jennings and April Ross of the United States meant a great deal to hosts Brazil.
“I think it will take some time to realize what we did here”, Ludwig said.
“Kerri does so much for us and I didn’t step up today”, Ross said. That’s what set the tone. 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. Unfortunately, all they have to do is win the bronze medal game against the top-seeded Brazilian duo of Larissa and Talita, who were upset by Germany. If you see a weakness, you go after it. They had played in a semifinal earlier that morning, in a match that started just after midnight on Wednesday.
We have become accustomed to seeing Walsh Jennings survive and advance. She now is tied with Misty May-Treanor, her former partner, for three medals (all gold) and Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil, who each have gold, silver and bronze.
Ross wasn’t buying that her partner should take the most blame.
“They’ll fight tooth and nail”, Ross said. Ross seemed to be taking the defeat harder than Walsh Jennings for that reason. However, the athlete and mom eats a very consistent diet, partially because she has three kids that take up a lot of her time.
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And Walsh Jennings, known for her optimism, found another bright side to it all. Two shoulder injuries and Walsh Jennings’ subsequent recovery threatened the pair’s potential Olympic plans, and forced Ross, 34, to hit the sand with other playing partners at the end of last season. Her father played minor league baseball and her mother was a talented volleyball player at Santa Clara University. A year ago she underwent surgery for a torn labrum and capsule that kept her out of play for several months. If I was doing this alone and sacrificing having a family or putting certain life things aside to chase this dream, it would be a different story. Walsh Jennings spends a significant amount of time on mental training, including regular meetings with a sports psychologist.
