Brazil women beat US, ending Walsh Jennings’ golden run

Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross must overcome their disappointment at not being in the gold medal match to battle top-seeded Brazilian women Talita and Larissa for the bronze medal in beach volleyball on Wednesday.

Asked if she can come back for another try at a gold medal, Walsh Jennings said earlier this week, “I know I can”. She and Ross will play in the bronze medal match Wednesday night.

After dropping the first set, which they only led once, they found themselves trailing early in the second as well. Against the best defensive team in the world, balls are going to come back across the net. Previous year she and Talita Antunes won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. “Because either you go home with a medal or you go home with nothing”. In the first set especially, the Brazilians targeted Walsh-Jennings with their serves. I’m so grateful for every gold medal, and I’m so proud.

Walsh Jennings and Ross said neither of them slept after losing to Brazil’s other team in the semifinal; for Walsh Jennings, it was her first loss in 27 Olympic matches. Heading into the semifinals, Walsh Jennings’ Olympic beach volleyball career record stood at 26-0. Ross went back and served an ace to give US a 19-15 lead, but Brazil scored consecutive points, the second on its sixth ace of the match, to get within two at 19-17.

Walsh Jennings, who turned 39 this week, won gold in 2004, 2008 and 2012 with Misty May-Treanor, who, like Ross, played at Newport Harbor High.

April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings formed their partnership in the moments after the London gold medal match but didn’t begin competing internationally until 2013.

Since April, the pair also won tournaments everywhere from China to Cincinnati and Russian Federation to Huntington Beach. “They deserved the gold medal today”.

“It’s a bad feeling”, she said, taking the blame for the loss by saying her failure to pass effectively put her partner in a bind.

“We worked on how to be self-confident even with this crowd”, Ludwig said after the match.

Walsh-Jennings and her former teammate, Misty May-Traenor, made beach volleyball a staple of Olympic prime time programming in U.S. At 38, Walsh-Jennings is still not sure this will be her last Olympics, but, as she left the stadium, a group of Olympic volunteers gave her a round of applause that felt nearly valedictory.

“That’s quintessential Kerri”, said Ross, crediting her partner.

Ross reflected to TeamUSA.org on their chance to play for Bronze against another Brazilian team.

But this time around, Walsh Jennings has a brand new partner. Coming to Rio, Walsh Jennings, 38, and Ross, 34, had lost to Larissa and Talita four times in five FIVB World Tour matches this year – most recently just five weeks ago at the Gstaad Open in Switzerland.

Late in the first, the Brazilians’ tactics appeared to get to Walsh Jennings.