The top USA beach volleyball team of Alix Klineman and April Ross are going to the gold medal match. In two sets, they beat the Swiss beach volleyball team of Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich. They will now advance to the gold medal game against either Australia or Latvia. Ross is looking for her third Olympic medal, but her first gold for USA beach volleyball.
Set One
First, Aix and April jumped out to a 7-3 which lead to the Swiss taking a timeout. The run grew to a 7-1 run after the timeout. The US kept rolling as they doubled up the Swiss 14-7. The Swiss countered with a 4-1 run. The US bounced back and Klineman had one of the best blocks of the tournament to make it set point, and eventually won 21-12. Additionally, the sand temperature was 111 degrees. However, the US team are well trained and conditioned for the heat. The US did not make a hitting error as opposed to four by Switzerland.
Set Two
The second set started as a contested battle. But, the Swiss were making some mistakes. The US pulled out to a 13-7 lead. The Swiss kept battling and chipped away. The US had enough of the comeback and took control. A timeout was called with the US leading 18-10 as the wheels came off the wagon for Switzerland. Klineman was just unstoppable. Finally, the US won 21-11 and advanced to the gold medal game. The A-Team will now be focused on recovering, prepping, and scouting whoever the final opponent is going to be. They have spent so much time conditioning and getting adjusted to the heat and humidity to get a shot at gold. You got to love it when a plan comes together.
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