Ross, partner claim bronze
It wasn’t the spot on the medal stand they had envisioned, but Costa Mesa resident April Ross and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings were proud to be on the women’s beach volleyball podium after winning the bronze-medal match at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Wednesday.
Ross, 34, a Newport Harbor High product who won the silver medal in London in 2012 with then-partner Jennifer Kessy, helped three-time gold medalist Walsh Jennings top the Brazilian tandem of Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes, 17-21, 21-17, 15-9, at Copacabana Beach.
Walsh Jennings, who captured gold in 2004, 2008 and 2012 with now-retired Misty May-Treanor, another Newport Harbor product, led the way in the final two sets. The 6-foot-3 legend, who turned 39 on Monday, had six kills and four stuff blocks in the decisive set, in which the Americans rallied from an 11-8 deficit. She earned the final two points by blocking Antunes attacks.
Walsh Jennings had 12 kills in the second set, when the U.S. duo closed on an 11-4 run to overcome a 13-10 hole.
It was just the second win for Ross and Walsh Jennings, No. 3 in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball world rankings, in six matches against the No. 1-ranked Brazilian team.
Franca and Antunes handled the Americans, 21-18, 21-14, in the FIVB tournament final in Gstaad, Switzerland on July 9.
A month earlier, Franca and Antunes posted a 21-15, 21-17 sweep in Hamburg, Germany and also topped the Americans in FIVB events in Victoria, Brazil (in March) and Long Beach (Aug. 23, 2015).
The lone previous win for Ross and Walsh Jennings over the Brazilian tandem was a 22-20, 21-17 triumph in an FIVB event in Moscow, Russia on May 29.
“It’s crazy what 24 hours can do,” Walsh Jennings told the Associated Press after the match. “This is a highlight of my athletic career, without a doubt. Devastating is a pretty huge word, but it pretty much captures how I felt [after Tuesday’s semifinal loss]. We came here to be our best, and I was subpar.”
Ross, a 6-1 former USC All-American indoors, had 14 kills, 15 digs and her team’s only ace on Wednesday.
Walsh Jennings, who was 26-0 in Olympic matches until she and Ross were defeated, 22-20, 21-18, by the No. 2 team in the world, Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas in Tuesday’s semifinals, finished with 25 kills, six stuff blocks and four digs.
“I think she’s the best player that we have for beach volleyball for all [time],” Antunes said of Walsh Jennings. “If you ask everybody, everybody will say ‘Kerri.’”
Antunes had 26 kills, seven digs and one block, while Franca chipped in five aces, 12 digs and seven kills.
The Americans’ only lead in the opening set was 6-5. Team USA scored the first point of the second set, but did not lead again until an Antunes hitting error capped a 5-1 USA run to put Ross and Walsh Jennings up, 15-14.
Walsh Jennings, who was on the U.S. women’s indoor volleyball team that lost in the bronze-medal match at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney , Australia, became the oldest female medal winner in Olympic beach volleyball history.
Walsh Jennings is also just the fifth beach player to win medals with two different partners.
Franca teamed with Juliana Silva to win the bronze medal in 2012, after they were defeated by Ross and Kessy in the semifinals.
Talita, playing with another partner in 2008, lost in the bronze-medal match against China in Beijing.
— From staff reports
— From staff reports