For the men, today's the day the hardware gets handed out. The ladies play on tomorrow, but however you cut it, you've got to be pretty elite to still be playing today. The day began with women's action:
Talita/Taiana vs. Kessy/Ross
For once, it was actually a tough call to pick which of the two court's matches I wanted to watch, as centre court featured a match between the top two tournament seeds at this same time. This was the second slate of women's matches, I missed the first, but nobody playing in it drew my interest very much.
This match started off with an even exchange of the first 10 points, before the Americans rattled off three on serve. There was an inadvertent whistle on the first 7-5 rally that was momentarily a little confusing, but it didn't look like either side was the worse for it. At 9-6, the Americans demonstrated some awesome communication, as Ross, the server, was able to keep a ball alive with a diving dig, and managed to just blurt out "Go!" as it reached Kessy. This let Kessy know to send it over on 2 rather than try to set April, for whatever reason, and it worked perfectly as she found the sand. Ross a kill of her own on the next rally to put the Americans up five, and the Brazil team called time.
The run continued on after the timeout, with an unforced hitting error on the Brazilian side making it 12-6. The Brazilians did run it back to 12-9 at the halfway timeout, but that's still a solid lead, and it became four when the Americans sided out to start the second half of the set. Four then became five at 14-9, and while the Brazilians didn't just roll over and die or anything, this set demonstrated why deficits are hard to overcome in beach volleyball. The closest they got was 2, first at 17-15, before the Americans finished off the set 21-17.
The Brazilians came out strong to start set 2, winning the first three points. The third rally was an especially long one, and you could hear the grunts of effort from the always-expressive Americans as they ventured far and wide on defence. They were not, however, rewarded for their efforts, and fell behind a further point after the next rally. The Americans sided out for the first time at 4-1. They traded sideouts to 6-4 when the Americans got one back on serve, Brazil being called for a touch on a wide hit by Kessy. It remained sideout volleyball after that to the second side change at 8-6. Both sides took one on serve in the next run of 7 points preceding the automatic timeout, which came with Brazil leading 11-10 on reception.
Again, both sides scored in serve in the next slate of 7, making the effect nil. Usually if one side scores on serve so often (and this would constitute often), the other doesn't, because it means there's a pretty wide talent gulf on the court. The Brazil team added an ace to make it 16-13 and another point to make it a four-point edge, their biggest of the match. The Americans called time there, but didn't side out until 18-14, making it pretty clear that this match would go to a 3rd. The Brazilians reached set point at 20-14. The Americans staved off three to force Brazil's timeout….at which point the feed abruptly cut out. The Brazilians converted set point on their next attempt and went on to win the match (17-21, 21-17, 15-11).
Gibb/Patterson vs. Kadziola/Szalankiewicz
It was mostly sideouts early, as the Poles led 8-6 on service following two side changes. On the first rally after the second change, they very nearly scored a miracle point, with Kadziola diving under the net to go after a wayward ball and managing to pass it back to Szalankiewicz under the net back to their side. Szalankiewicz's third hit landed just out of bounds for a point for the Americans, but a few inches the other way and the crowd would have lost their minds, because Gibb and Patterson weren't going to get to it either way. But that second hit, diving under the net to pass the ball backwards, with neither the ball nor the player touching the net — that was impressive. But it was the Americans who played as if buoyed by that rally, as they took five of the next six to lead 12-9 at the halfway timeout.
A Patterson service error on the first ball after the timeout got the Poles their sideout, but that's all it really was in the next slate of points, sideout after sideout. The Americans played some nifty offence, with Gibb coming up with a kill at one point and hardly even needing to jump to do it, as his height and wingspan made him able to softly redirect a ball headed his way. The Americans reached set point at 20-15 after a Polish hitting error, and put it away at 21-17.
The Americans took the early lead in set with a nicely-timed block for Gibb against Kadziola, leading to the USA team leading 4-3 on reception at the side change. The Americans took a great rally on 7-5 to go up three for the first time in the set. The Poles took four of the next five to draw it back even, 9-8 being another long rally that ended with an American hitting error. It was 11-10 USA on service at the halfway timeout — basically dead-even.
The Poles edged ahead at 13-12 for their first lead since early in set 1, but they weren't able to pull away, the match being even at 14's on the fourth side change. The 16-15 rally almost resulted in the Poles going up 2, as with their defence well back of the net, Patterson came up with a roll shot that just barely cleared it and fell in. Kadziola's hit on the next rally drilling the net meant the Americans went back on top 17-16, and it was timeout Poland. They came out of the timeout with a strong 4-0 to reach set point at 20-17, but the Americans then proceeded to stare down all three set points, both players coming up with some nice plays, and reach match point at 21-20. A service ace for Patterson propelled the Americans — the unexpected Americans — to the gold medal final.
Ricardo/Alvaro Filho vs. Pedro/Bruno
I wasn't able to tune in to the stream right away, but I didn't miss a great deal either. Ricardo and Alvaro called time down 9-4 after Alvaro's swing met the block on the other side. With the scoreboard simply naming countries and not the players, it made it a small challenge to follow along, but luckily Ricardo and Alvaro are pretty distinctive players, meaning it was easy to tell which team was which and, consequently, follow the score. It was 12-9 in favour of Pedro/Bruno on reception at the halfway timeout.
After some more sideouts, a block for Ricardo brought his side back within two at 14-12. Pedro and Bruno got it back and then another to lead 16-12 at the fourth change. A double-hit by Pedro made it two again at 16-14, and they took their timeout. They re-established their 4-point lead once again at 18-14. They closed it out on serve at 21-16.
Ricardo and Alvardo started off strong in set 2, taking five of the first six and forcing their compatriots across the net to expend a very early timeout. They chipped away at the lead pretty quickly, and trailed just 8-6 at the second side change. On the 9-7 rally, Ricardo kind of seemed to give up on the play. It was a long rally, ending with Alvaro digging a ball and sending it about 10-12 feet straight up in the air (high, but not towering). Ricardo was across the court at the time, but he didn't even attempt to get there for a second contact. I guess he knew he wouldn't make it in time, and he would know that better than I would. The midpoint came with Ricardo/Alvaro leading by one point, on reception.
Pedro and Bruno took the first point after the timeout, one which Ricardo protested. Replays showed he definitely thought he had a kill, and he had a few words with the up referee, holding his hands about 2 feet apart in midair. He got his point back on the next rally, spiking Pedro. Then on 12-11, a long rally ending with a kill for Alvaro put their side back up two. 13-12 was a fabulous rally, with all four athletes just laying out for the ball and keeping it alive just inches off the sand. The diminutive Alvaro actually won a joust with Pedro, but the green-clad first set winners got the point to draw the set even at 13-all.
Ricardo and Alvaro called their timeout down 15-14 following the first rally after the side change, and Pedro/Bruno made it a 2-point advantage on the first point after. They came within inches of going up 3 on 17-15, but their serve that crept over the net landed out of bounds. Neither Ricardo nor Alvaro were anywhere near it. The hulking Ricardo made it a tie set again at 17-all by rejecting his old partner Pedro. Pedro and Bruno made it to 19-17, but after siding out, Ricardo and Alvaro kept their countrymen from reaching match point by winning a long rally. Ricardo came up with a beauty of a block on the next point to make it set point for his side at 20-19. He turned to the crowd to soak up the (well-deserved) accolades. Pedro and Bruno sided out to stave off the set point, and then the next as well at 21-20. Ricardo and Alvaro did a terrific job of keeping the ball from hitting the ground on their next set point at 22-21, but all the scrambling led to a blocking mismatch with Alvaro forced to play the net, and Pedro/Bruno staved off another. Finally, on their fourth try at it, Ricardo and Alvaro knotted the match at a set aside, with a kill from Alvaro.
It was a big start to the decider for Pedro and Bruno, taking the first five points in a whitewash preceding the side change. After a long rally on 5-0, Pedro made it six by taking a joust against the outmatched Alvaro. The run reached 7 before Ricardo and Alvaro finally sided out, effectively sealing the deal. They got as close as three, first at 12-9, but with the decider only going to 15 they just didn't have enough road to make it all the way back. The final was 15-10 as Pedro/Bruno advanced to play for gold and left Ricardo/Alvaro with their second bronze medal final in as many weeks.
Maria/Agatha vs. Van Gestel/Meppelink
The boys then got a little time to lay off and recover, while the women's quarterfinals took over. All four Brazilian teams in the tournament made the quarterfinals, and while two of them were to play each other in this round, that didn't eliminate the possibility of a Brazilian medal sweep, something that hasn't happened since 2009.
And the play of the Brazilian team early on certainly didn't hurt those chances either. The Dutch were forced into an early timeout trailing 8-3. The Dutch team ran it back to 8-6 on the side change. On the first rally after the change, Maria and Agatha appeared at a glance to be celebrating a point too early, turning away from the net to hug each other while the Dutch team were scrambling on defence. They got the ball back over the net while Maria and Agatha weren't even looking, but one of them played it off the net twice in succession, so it was point Brazil. From 11-8 on service, the Dutch team managed two in a row, both on Brazilian hitting errors, to make it a one-point set at the midway timeout. Two more after the timeout put the Dutch on top for the first time in the set.
Sideout after sideout followed, until the Brazilians took two back on serve to go up again 18-17. 18-all was then a very, very long rally, ending at last with a Dutch hit into the antenna. The Brazilians reached set point at 20-19, but the Dutch sided out to stave it off. At 21-20, on their second attempt, the Dutch hit looked to land wide and was ruled wide by the flagger, but the up ref overruled him and made it 21-all. That led to a set point opportunity for the Dutch. The Brazilians appeared to save it, but the point and set were given to the Dutch. The stream lacked sound at this point, and there were no good camera angles of the up ref, so I'm not sure what exactly happened. The Brazilians protested briefly, but of course the ruling stood.
In set 2, it was the Dutch team who took the early lead, extending to three at 7-4, only to have the Brazilians come back and nip them. Maria and Agatha led 11-10 on reception at the halfway mark. Midway through this set the sound came back on, and that's a big enhancement for me. Sometimes people talk about muting streams or TV broadcasts if they dislike the play-by-play commentators, but I could never do that, ever. The sounds of the game — the grunts of effort, the slap of the ball against hand, the applause and cheers of the crowd — mean too much to me to have any dithering idiot make them worth losing.
The Dutch team drew the set back even at 15's but Brazil just as quickly got their sideout advantage back, claiming a service ace on 16-15. They extended to three at the fifth side change and made it set point on a hard-fought rally just afterward. The Dutch took their timeout trailing 20-16, but it made little difference as the Brazil team took the set 21-17.
The decider began with a series of long, athletic, great rallies. The Dutch led 3-2 at the first side change and took three on serve afterward to extend to 6-2, the last a service ace. This prompted Brazil to call time, but the margin held up. It was 7-3 at the second side change and 9-6, Dutch to receive, at the third. From there, the Dutch pulled away, extending to a six-point lead at 12-6 before the Brazilians got another sideout. They made it back to within 13-11 following a let-serve ace and an overpass on the Dutch side leading to an easy kill, but they ran out of road. After the sideout to get to match point, the Dutch team advanced to the semifinals with a great left-side block. And there were a few roars of delight afterward.
Xue/Zhang vs. Maria Clara/Carolina
This match pits the tournament's top overall seeds against a qualifier, two teams that met in pool play. China won that match (21-19, 21-17). The crowd became noticeably far thicker for this match, for obvious reasons.
The first 7 points were a wash, and Brazil edged ahead at 5-3 with the rare feat of blocking the tall, young Xue. They did well on the next rally to scramble at the net and keep a ball alive, but their attempt to return it sailed wide to make it 5-all. A bounce in their favour on the next play put them back on top. At 8-6, the rally ended with Xue and Carolina jousting, and Carolina indicated that she expected the ball to be called out off the Chinese young lady. No such luck, and Xue followed with an ace to make it 8-all. The match went on pretty evenly, but you got the sense that the Brazilians were scraping and clawing to stay this close, while the Chinese actually weren't playing to their full abilities. They did take the slender lead, however, at 11-10 at the halfway point.
China called timeout upon falling behind again 15-13 at the fourth side change. Brazil showed a confidence that they were lacking earlier in the set on the kill to extend the lead to 18-15, while the Chinese team still looked like they weren't on their best. A Xue block closed it back to 18-17, and the Brazilians followed the Chinese example from earlier by calling time during a side change. They took three of the next four to put the set away.
The teams traded a long stretch of entertaining rallies to start set 2, with the Chinese taking the first real lead at 6-4 following a kill for Zhang off the block and out. This held steady to 8-6 at the second side change. The set became a little streaky after that, as Brazil brought it back even at 8, China again went ahead 10-8, and Brazil made it a tie again at 10-all. China built a little on their meager 11-10 midpoint lead — just as they had in set 1 — to the delight of the home fans, going up 14-12, but Brazil tied it again at the fourth side change with one of those annoying little let-serve aces. Xue nearly got to it, miraculously keeping it up on her own contact, but she couldn't send it to Zhang for a second hit.
After the rally ending 16-all, there was kind of a bizarre sight as the court lines had to be adjusted. That's not so bizarre — it happens a few times every match — but the weird part was seeing players from both sides pulling them taut. That's not a very common sight at all. Despite China looking far better in set 2 than they did for most of set 1, it was still the Brazilians reaching match point, at 20-17. A great rally led to Zhang staving it off, but the Brazilians converted on reception to end the match in two, with both sets having the same 21-18 score.
Ricardo/Alvaro Filho vs. Kadziola/Szalankiewicz
Interesting backgrounds for these four players. Ricardo is a hardened veteran and was half of probably the greatest partnership in Brazil beach volleyball history (and arguably in the history of the sport itself) with Emanuel. Alvaro is a rank rookie. Kadziola and Szalankiewicz, who have never partnered with anyone else (not even for one tourney, either of them) are pretty young, too (though older than Alvaro) but are multi-year veterans of the World Tour, playing in a medal match for the first time.
It was a slugfest early, with the Brazilians holding the narrow 8-6 lead after two side changes. My feed blinked out for a minute at that point, and came back with the Poles siding out to tie the match at 10's. Alvaro got the point back on the next rally to put Brazil ahead 11-10 at the halfway point. A block for Ricardo made it a 2-point edge for the Brazil side, and just a terrific point for the veteran came on 14-12. He jousted with Szalankiewicz, the ball coming down on his side, and was able to jab it up in the air to afford himself the hitting opportunity. Alvaro scrambled in to setting position, and Ricardo easily found the sand. The Poles called time down 15-12, but Ricardo's run on serve continued. He came up with repeated block touches on the rally ending 19-12, though one of them looked a little dodgy like he could have been called for a lift. A wide hit by Szalankiewicz made it set point, and then another finished off the set with an 8-0 run by the Brazilians.
After a Polish sideout to start the set, the Brazilian run continued with four straight, prompting Poland's timeout. And then it really started to get ugly, as that 4-1 run was followed by another 4-1 run to put the Brazilians up six. From the 7-point deficit of 10-3, the Poles finally started siding out a bit more frequently, but that was way too late to make any real difference. Another run on serve came late for the Brazil team to close out a 21-10 second set shellacking and seal bronze. It's still the Polish team's best-ever World Tour result, but it's gotta be a disappointment to come out in a medal final and just get destroyed like you're a qualifier eking into pool play.
Pedro/Bruno vs. Gibb/Patterson
We end the day with some gold being handed out. Which is how it should be. It was a little awkward last week in Fuzhou having the men's gold medal final come in the middle of the day's session. It's interesting to note the backgrounds of these four athletes. Gibb won last season's points championship with Sean Rosenthal, and two gold medals along the way, so this is old hat to him. But for Patterson, this is a first. While a longtime veteran of the American beach volleyball circuit, he's only played internationally prior to these past two weeks a very small handful of times. The 9th place the team got last week in Fuzhou was equal-best result of his career. For the Brazilians, Pedro is a name that should stand out. He's a one-time points champion (2008, with Harley) and has 11 previous FIVB gold medals. Bruno is a relative newcomer to this stage, but does have 2 silvers to his past credit.
Brazil scored the first three points of the match, but the Americans had little trouble closing the gap. It was 4-3 Brazil at the side change, and then Gibb put the American side on top for the first time with a couple of falcon-like serves that found the sand for aces. On 7-6, Gibb put up the perfect block against Pedro, and was clearly excited about that. The Americans thus led by two at the second side change. He came up with another, albeit on a reception point, to deny Bruno on the 8-7 rally. The longer the rallies went, the more they seemed to favour the Americans. When it stopped really mattering who had served, the point inevitably went to them, and they extended to a 3-point lead at 12-9 and the midpoint timeout.
A couple of strong serves from Patterson, an ace among them, extended the USA team to a 14-9 lead shortly after coming back from the timeout. That inaugurated a string of sideouts, which, of course, favoured the leading Americans. Patterson added a point to the American team's lead by winning a joust with Pedro to go up 18-12. The Americans reached set point at 20-14, and put it away 21-16.
Brazil started with a scoring run in set 2, just as they had in set 1. This time it was 4 rather than 3, and a a kind of dodgy play got the Americans the sideout. Gibb reached over the net to redirect the ball for a kill, and Pedro protested to the up ref that he should have been called for interference. Gotta say I agree with Pedro, but they were lying well regardless, going up 6-1 at the side change. And the clobbering continued into the next batch of points, with Brazil holding a downright staggering 15-6 lead at the midway point. It was clear a race to 15 would be necessary, and as the set wore on the Americans had even more trouble siding out. Brazil reached set point at 20-8 (!!! This is the gold medal final!) and the Americans failed to reach double digits, dropping it by a 21-9 count.
Pedro and Bruno made it three straight sets reaching the scoreboard first, but they did not go on a run this time, Gibb siding the Americans out to make it 1-1. Thankfully, the set was much more competitive than the 2nd, with an essentially-even 3-2 score coming at the first side change and likewise 5-all at the second. The Americans took one on serve to begin the third batch of 5, and led 8-7 on reception after that third change. With two more to start that batch of 5, the Brazilians called time. On the first point after the timeout, Patterson obliterated Pedro at the net to make it a 4-point USA lead, and then Gibb followed with a softer block, but one that counted all the same. Another big block, quite emphatically flipping the script from set 2, got it to 13-7 and side change. Patterson put away a long rally to give the Americans gold medal point at 14-7, and they won the second straight American gold with a 15-9 final.
The champions gave a brief interview after match point fell. Patterson thanked Gibb, the Olympian, for taking a chance on him, "the young kid." Not sure if that last part was a joke, but they're only 4 years different in age (Patterson is the same age as Phil Dalhausser). Gibb commented that while they were of course thrilled to win so early in their partnership, and would take a little time to savour it, they still had more to work on for the future.
Full day's results:
Women
Knockout round 2
Xue/Zhang (CHN) d. Keizer/Van Iersel (NED) (21-18, 22-20)
Maria Clara/Carolina (BRA) d. Yue/Ma (CHN) (23-21, 18-21, 15-13)
Lili/Seixas (BRA) d. Holtwick/Semmler (GER) (21-17, 17-21, 15-11)
Talita/Taiana (BRA) d. Kessy/Ross (USA) (17-21, 21-17, 15-11)
Ludwig/Walkenhorst (GER) d. Van der Vlist/Wesselink (NED) (21-17, 21-14)
Schwaiger/Schwaiger (AUT) d. Liliana/Baquerizo (ESP) (21-8, 21-19)
Maria/Agatha (BRA) d. Khomyakova/Prokopeva (RUS) (21-14, 21-13)
Van Gestel/Meppelink (NED) d. Borger/Büthe (GER) ((21-10, 24-22)
Round 3
Maria Clara/Carolina d. Xue/Zhang (21-18, 21-18)
Talita/Taiana d. Lili/Seixas (21-12, 21-12)
Schwaiger/Schwaiger d. Ludwig/Walkenhorst (21-16, 21-17)
Van Gestel/Meppelink d. Maria/Agatha (23-21, 17-21, 15-11)
Tomorrow's semifinals:
Maria Clara/Carolina vs. Talita/Taiana
Schwaiger/Schwaiger vs. Van Gestel/Meppelink
So no Brazilian medal sweep, or even all-Brazilian final, but it could be two teams of sisters facing each other in the final (Maria Clara and Carolina are also sisters).
Men
Semifinals
Gibb/Patterson (USA) d. Kadziola/Szalankiewicz (POL) (21-17, 22-20)
Pedro/Bruno (BRA) d. Ricardo/Alvaro Filho (BRA) (21-16, 22-24, 15-10)
Bronze final
Ricardo/Alvaro Filho d. Kadziola/Szalankiewicz (21-12, 21-10)
Gold final
Gibb/Patterson d. Pedro/Bruno (21-16, 9-21, 15-9)
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