Walsh Jennings and Ross fought their way back, won the set, and then took the Brazilians down in a thrilling third to capture the bronze medal.
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It was the middle of the second set of the beach volleyball bronze medal match at Copacabana Beach on Wednesday night, and Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross looked done.
The last time these two met was at the Gstaad Major Series final when Larissa and Talita won 2-0.
Walsh Jennings hugged and kissed her husband, Casey Jennings, after successfully making it onto the podium for the fourth Olympics in a row, this time without her retired former partner Misty May-Treanor.
Walsh Jennings struggled with her passing throughout the medal round, including Tuesday night, when she and Ross lost to Brazil’s second-seeded team. “I say that with so much respect because they are really good”, Walsh Jennings said. Walsh Jennings stuffed Talita to post an 11-8 U.S. lead, before Ross bounced a shot off the sand for a big four-point lead at 13-9.
Carried by Paolo Nicolai’s blazing serves and Daniele Lupo’s sly tips for most their match, the Italians continued their remarkable run as lucky losers from the pool stage of the tournament to register a 15-21, 21-16, 15-13 over Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Via-cheslav Krasilnikov.
“We had so many opportunities to take the match into our hands and do what we came to do, and we didn’t do that”, Ross said to TeamUSA.org in interview. While at first Walsh Jennings seemed uncomfortable, she eventually settled in, which set her up for repeated spikes.
“I have no idea”, she said.
They rolled through the competition in Rio until Tuesday night, when the pair lost to the Brazilian duo of Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas. It was Walsh Jennings’ first loss in 27 Olympic beach volleyball matches.
Just as it appeared the third-seeded Americans were going down in two sets, Walsh Jennings, 38, went to a special place that has turned her into a legendary figure on the sand. “That’s what set the tone and we never got our mojo together or anything else”.
A new approach to strength training.
Instead, it was a battle for bronze, the world No. 1-ranked team versus the defending Olympic gold and silver medalists (gold for Walsh Jennings, silver for Ross). “Our coaches have trained us not to do that”, she said. “My instructor is a Master Jedi; she’s just so rad”.
“You’re going to see me with my kids very soon”.
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Walsh Jennings was not herself from the beginning. “We didn’t lose”, she said. “I need to keep everything freely moving so nothing gets bound up”. Though clearly disappointed, how did Walsh Jennings respond? Walsh Jennings spends a significant amount of time on mental training, including regular meetings with a sports psychologist. Past year she and Talita Antunes won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
