American pairs reach the final showdown of London Olympic BVB Tournament – Volleyball News
The crucial semi-final matches of the 2012 London Olympic Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament took place on Tuesday at the Horse Guards Parade and US pairs clinched success.
The first women’s semi-final match featured American duo of Kerri Walsh/Misty May-Treanor and Chen Xue/Zhang Xi of China. Two-time Olympic Champions Walsh and May-Treanor showed thirst for a third consecutive medal and claimed victory over Chinese duo. They
captured both sets with identical score of 22-20.
The Chinese caught a good start in the first stanza and quickly built a lead. Nonetheless, the Americans hit back and went up. The great chemistry between Walsh and May-Treanor perfectly worked out and led the duo to first-set win. The second set unfolded
the similar story. The score soared up with incredibly close gaps, while the audience moved back ‘n’ forth in their seats. Eventually, the US pair hit the mark and wrapped up the win after winning second set in a row.
“There’s relief, overwhelming relief, joy a little humility. I’m so proud of us. We didn’t play perfectly, we were so far from perfect, but our minds were perfect and our hearts were perfect and that is why we won. I think our experience absolutely helped.
We have had an amazing 11 years together and experienced everything. We have a huge match tomorrow have a goal that we want to achieve,” said Walsh after their win.
On the other hand, the pairing of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross pulled off success in the second semi-final match and clawed their way to the final showdown. They were challenged by the 2011 FIVB world champions Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca from
Brazil. Victory did not come easy for the Americans as the Brazilian duo used skill to down the opponents. However, Kessy/Ross proved to be better and earned 2-1 (15-21, 21-19, 15-12) victory.
Brazilian pair played better and secured first set with six points. In the following set, Americans put up good struggle and managed to bring the game to an even point. They claimed second set and created the tie of scores at 1-1. Kessy and Ross continued
with success and bagged match victory after winning the final set of the match.
Ross seemed satisfied with their hard-earned victory. She stated: “I hoped for this day. I’ve thought about winning this match in my dreams, but I didn’t actually picture it coming true.”
In the next run, the two American pairs will meet in the final match of the tournament on Thursday.
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