Tuesday, August 24, 2004
XATHENS, Greece -- American beach volleyball players Misty May and Kerri Walsh were nervous.
Not only was their next match for a berth in today's gold-medal game. Their next opponents were the ones who probably knew them the best -- fellow Americans Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs.
Not to worry.
May and Walsh, the world's top-ranked team, made McPeak and Youngs scramble for every point Monday and pulled away in the second set for a 21-18, 21-15 Olympic semifinals victory.
"That was the most stressful match I've ever had to play in my life," Walsh said. "The tension of the Olympic Games, the excitement -- it was all bubbling over."
The No. 1 Americans played for the gold today against second-seeded Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar, who defeated Australians Natalie Cook and Nicole Sanderson 21-17, 21-16. The Brazilians won the silver in 2000, losing to Cook and Kerri Pottharst.
McPeak and Youngs, the No. 4 seeds, will meet the Aussies for the bronze.
McPeak and Youngs have been the best team in the world this summer, with six wins and 13 top-10 finishes. But they still couldn't beat their friendly rivals, losing for the 14th straight time and for the 17th time in 19 meetings.
"I thought we could beat them, I really did," McPeak said. "But they put more pressure on us than we put on them."
The match was tied 10-10 in the first set, but the 6-foot-3 Walsh put the top U.S. duo ahead for good with an angled tap over the net. Walsh then blocked a one-handed kill attempt by Youngs and May punched a shot past the backpedaling McPeak and Youngs for a 13-10 lead. Walsh finished the set with an easy kill to open sand.
The teams were tied 7-7 in the second set before May and Walsh mounted a decisive 4-0 run, sending McPeak and Youngs diving and scrambling on every return. McPeak and Youngs staved off two match points before Walsh ended it with another uncontested kill.
Associated Press