So ends the women's tournament today, as the quarters, semis, and finals, straight up to the presentations of gold, silver, and bronze, all took place today. The men played knockout round 2 — the first knockout match for some teams — and the quarterfinals, in advance of playing the semis and both finals tomorrow. Here we go.
Gibb/Patterson vs. Alison/Emanuel
Sleepy, second slate, you know the pattern by now. To think I actually preferred the time difference to China : I caught the last few points of the Switzerland/Brazil match that began that day. It was a pretty good match, but I didn't see nearly enough of it to do a true write-up. This one interested me a lot more.
Neither team blinked through the first side change, the Brazil side leading 4-3 on serve. A hitting error by Gibb got them their first 'true' lead of the set at 5-3. An ace for Alison a short while late made it 8-5, and he also got the kill to make it 9-5 at the second side change. Patterson got the Americans their sideout on 9-6, and then they finally took one on serve too when a reception miscue on the other side led to a weak and easily-blocked hit by Emanuel. Then Gibb curiously served Alison, and got a smash off his block and out for his troubles. The big man followed that up with a service ace to get the point back and make it 11-7. It was 12-9 Brazil at the halfway mark.
The Americans remained resilient. They tied the match first at 14-all, only to have Alison and Emanuel run out ahead by 2 again immediately. Then they tied it once more at 18-all, and reached set point on serve at 20-19 on the heels of a long rally, ending with a kill from Patterson. Emanuel got his side the sideout to send the set to extras. On their fourth attempt at set point, the Americans claimed it with a block by their Gibb. To their credit, there was no huge demonstrative celebration — they just went quietly to the bench area to hydrate and prepare for set 2. I think a lot of teams would have let out a shout (let it all out?) there, going on the advantage against arguably the world's best team. Maybe a gold medal will do that for ya — give you some perspective.
Or maybe they just knew the job wasn't done, because Emanuel served his side to a 3-0 lead in the veritable blink of an eye to start the 2nd. The Americans quickly erased it to come even again at 5-all. Gibb proved every bit the match for Alison at the net you could ask for, despite being 10 years his senior. I recall reading someone saying that with Dalhausser/Rosenthal considered a 'dream team' Gibb was coming off a bit underrated as a cog in their run to last season's points title, and I'm coming around to that point of view myself. The Brazil side pulled back ahead by two at 10-8 and led by 'one and a half' at the midway point, 11-10 on reception. The Americans came back even again at 12-all. After siding out, Emanuel's serve elicited an overpass that Emanuel just gobbled up, to put the Brazilians back up at 14-12. The Americans responded with a three-point run, last on an uncharacteristic unforced hitting error from Emanuel to go up 15-14 and prompt the Brazil team's timeout. They got the sideout after the timeout, then a couple of ace serves for Alison to go up 17-15. An unforced error on the American side brought it to 18-15. Gibb finally got the Americans the sideout there, but they made no further inroads into the deficit, falling 21-16.
After a 3-2 start through to the first side change in the decider, the Americans took the first two-point lead, and maintained it through a stretch of sideouts to 6-4 at the second side change. A hitting error from Emanuel, wide, brought the match to 7-4, and it was timeout Brazil. Emanuel got the sideout on the first point after the timeout, executing a textbook cut shot, but Alison gave it right back with a service error into the net. It was 9-6 at the third change and 11-9 at the fourth, as Gibb and Patterson began to follow the "sideout to victory" path (and if you can, why the hell not?). And so it continued. Alison and Emanuel looked — gosh, do I dare even say it? — a little bit lazy on defence as the match wore on. Balls that looked totally playable fell between them. In any case, "sideout to victory" proved the exact story of the match, as Gibb and Patterson took the most impressive single match win of their partnership (no one they beat in Shanghai compare to Alison/Emanuel) with a 15-12 final in the 3rd.
Kessy/Ross vs. Liliana/Baquerizo
Hope Jen and April were satisfyingly rested. It was an auspicious start for them, with April getting her first ace of the match right out of the chute. But as far as the first slate of points went, that simply shifted who were able to serve with the lead. It was 4-3 in the Americans' favour at the first side change, but after that they seized control. Lili and Elsa (first name basis with everyone, eh?) called time when doubled up at 8-4, as great serving pressure from April had them all out of sorts. Only by getting a serve into the net did the Spaniards finally sideout. They added one more on serve, but only one, and another ace for April got the point back at 11-7. She added another ace to make it 12-7, and then on the rally that followed, I wasn't quite sure who had won the point (kind of an awkward angle to see where the ball fell). I looked to see if April went back to the service line again, and she did. Her run extended to the halfway timeout at 14-7, as this all of a sudden had become a rout.
The run ended after the timeout, but that only brought the Spanish team to within six. Even that didn't last, as the 15-8 rally originally ended with the point going to the Spanish team. The flagger had a quick word with the up ref (he had signalled the ball hitting the antenna, curiously right in front of the up ref), and the call was changed. On 16-8, the Spanish girls were called for a ball handling fault, and a block for Jen Kessy turned the rout into a laugher as the Americans assumed a 10-point lead. On 18-9, the point was initially awarded to the Spanish team only to again be overturned, and this actually involved the up ref climbing down from his perch to check out the impression in the sand left by the ball as it fell. Apparently he was satisfied it fell in bounds after all — though Lili and Elsa surely (and understandably) weren't. The Americans rather shockingly reached set point at 20-9, and converted for a 21-11 final.
The Spain team did a good job of remembering it's 0-0 again at the start of a new set, taking a very quick three-point lead at just the first side change. This extended to four at the second change when Jen's pokie shot couldn't quite clear the net. Showing far better execution on defence, they made it to a five-point lead at 10-5. The Americans ran back a couple on serve, but still trailed 12-9 at the halfway mark. That margin wasn't to last — the Spain team went ahead by five again at 17-12 and six for the first time at 18-12, on the backs of some long rallies. They closed the set out 21-13, almost completely reversing the teams' fortunes in set 1. I had speculated while livetweeting that set 2 was assured to be tighter than set 1….it really kinda wasn't. It was just opposite.
After a rout apiece, the two teams kept it close in the decider, an even split of the first ten points — and then the first twenty. It wasn't entirely sideout after sideout, but it was pretty close to that. When Jen and April took one on serve for the first time in a while to go up 11-10, the Spain team called time. If the timeout iced anyone, it was Lili and Elsa themselves, as their hit attempt on the first point back sailed wide. After a long rally on 13-11, the Americans reached match point with a crosscourt kill for April. They converted on reception to put away a somewhat bizarre 3-setter and earn themselves a semifinal berth for the first time this season.
Vitor Felipe/Evandro vs. Pedro/Bruno
It's not surprising that these two would make it this far, one having won their pool and the other not. The surprising part is that it's Vitor and Evandro who have done the marginally better of these two teams so far in this tournament. But at this point, none of that mattered anymore.
I had to skip a little of this match as I was cooking my lunch (not a phrase I use a whole lot — lunch often comes out of a box, sorry to say), but suffice it to say Pedro and Bruno performed like the favourites you'd expect them to be. They ran out to a 7-2 lead early in set 1 to prompt their compatriots to call timeout. The first rally back from the timeout was a very long one, again ending in favour of Pedro/Bruno. The younger team (indeed, Vitor is scheduled to play the Under-23 World Championship in a couple weeks) really just couldn't keep up with their more experienced countrymen. Pedro and Bruno reached set point at 20-9. Vitor and Evandro staved off their one on reception but their serve on 20-10 lazily flew wide.
And it seems Vitor and Evandro may have simply packed it in in set 1 when they first fell behind, because set 2 was remarkably more competitive. Pedro and Bruno only edged ahead 8-6 at the second side change after ties at each score through 6. The younger team had the equaliser before too long, drawing even again at 9's. They even took a brief lead at 14-13 before Pedro and Bruno took back the lead . Vitor and Evandro called time down 17-14, but then took four of the next five to prompt the other side to take time, at 18-all. The timeout was a small dose of magic medicine for Pedro and Bruno, too, as they took the next three in a row to close out the match.
Maria Clara/Carolina vs. Meppelink/Van Gestel
It was nice getting to take a little powernap between the last match and this, as there was half an hour between the two. We got the pleasure of multiple cameras for this match, showing it to be a pretty nice day out, and the stands only about half full. This made three straight semifinals appearances for this Dutch team — would they finally break through and get a medal today?
It was a tight opening frame. The Salgado sisters took a point on serve in the first slate of seven, but Meppelink took it right back on the 4-3 rally with a great block. She added another on the rally beginning 5-all to give the Dutch side their first lead. It was 7-all, Brazil to serve, at the second change. An ace for Van Gestel put the Dutch girls ahead two for the first time at 10-8, and a matching ace to win ya the poker hand made it three at 11-8. It looked like Carolina got one of the points back with a beautiful middle block in advance of the midway timeout, but instead she had some unhappy words with the up ref. My guess is she was called for a net fault, but I really don't know. It was 12-9 rather than 11-10, a not-insignificant point swing.
The sisters got the point back for sure two rallies after the timeout, drawing to within 12-11. That margin held up until Carolina's clean block made it 14-all at the fourth change. The Brazilians managed to sneak in a point on serve to be able to be the ones serving with the advantage, and then took the 2-point lead at 19-17 to prompt their opponents' timeout. Maria Clara served for the set at 20-18. The Dutch team got their sideout and then beat Carolina's block to knot the set at 20-all. Onto extras we (by which I mean they, of course) went. The Dutch team were the first to get one on serve, earning them the opportunity to serve for the match at 22-21, but that wasn't to be the end of it. It took them until their fourth try to seal it, winning 26-24 with a stuff block to seal the deal.
After an even split to the first ten points of set 2, there was a contentious call on the 5-5 rally. Carolina was whistled for a net interference fault (reaching through the net, or poising to do so). She protested vehemently — so vehemently in fact, she was assessed a yellow card. The crowd whistled (does that mean the same as booing in South America, the way it does in Europe?) and she demonstratively tried to whip them up further (after the yellow card, oddly enough). But if anything it buoyed Meppelink and van Gestel, who took a rare (for this match anyway) 3-point lead at the Salgado sisters' timeout on 9-6. The timeout rejuvenated them, and they came up with three straight to tie the set again at 9-all. It was 11-10 in Meppelink/Van Gestel's favour at the halfway timeout.
At first it looked like they'd run away with it coming out of the timeout, pressing their advantage to 15-11, but the Salgado sisters rattled off four in a row to come level again and prompt the Dutch team to call time. The sisters took the lead before the Dutch team got the sideout, and added another on serve to go up two at 18-16. They led by three at the fifth side change and reached set point at 20-18 after a service error from Meppelink. Carolina's block ended the set on 21-18, to send us to a 3rd.
Carolina paid the price early in set 3. After six points were evenly split, the Dutch team went up 4-3 when she (Carolina) ran after a wayward pass and wound up barreling into the courtside barricades head-first. She waved off medical attention, but that's still gotta hurt like crazy (and….maybe they should have taken a moment to examine her anyway). The crowd, who were somewhat partisan to the Brazilians the whole way, gave her a very appreciative round of aplauso for her effort. Play was stopped for only a moment as Carolina was permitted to hydrate (ordinarily, when the teams can take water is tightly regulated) and take that moment to gather herself. The Dutch team took the next point to go ahead 5-3. After some sideouts, they extended to 9-6 at the third side change, when for one of the first times a healthy cheer from the crowd went up on their behalf. The Brazilians got a point back in there somewhere, but Meppelink re-established the 3-point lead at 11-8, and the Salgado girls made no further inroads into the deficit, falling 15-10.
After two fourth-place finishes in China, I'm sure it was very satisfying for the Dutch tandem to be assured of walking away with a medal this week.
Maria/Agatha vs. Kessy/Ross
Very nice to see Jen and April in the semis again. I've not exactly hidden the fact that I'm a fan of theirs, so their early exits in China prompting talk that Jen was somehow "finished" (whether literally or figuratively) didn't exactly make me happy. But seeing them get to play for a medal sure did 🙂 The PA announcer at this court, by the way, obviously did not speak English, but he had to give the player intros in English (this was the case at the China tournaments, too — I imagine it's a widespread rule). Under clearly phonetic reading, he pronounced April Ross' first name "Ahh-preel." Not hating — really! — I just notice these things. Moving on.
It was a very strong start for the American team, leading 5-2 after the first side change and rattling off three more from 6-3 to go up by six. It was April's great serving that paved the way, getting two aces and an out-of-system set from the Brazilians to lead to the big margin. The court mic also caught April talking a little, showing a) April herself to be a little bit more demonstrative than usual (usually Jen does most of the talking) and b) that the crowd were sitting on their hands. There was some polite applause for the great serving, but as far as results, they definitely still favoured Brazil. Maria and Agatha pulled back a couple of points, but still trailed 13-8 on service at the technical timeout. Jen and April took three of four straight after the timeout to hold a commanding 7-point lead. The Brazilians only came as close again as 5, at 18-13, before the 21-15 final.
Maria and Agatha shook off the shaky first set and took the advantage in set 2, leading 8-6 after two side changes and pressing it further to go up 11-7 on a pretty obvious block-touch call that nonetheless angered Jen Kessy for some reason. She yanked off her hat in frustration and gestured toward the up ref, but was quickly back in the game. All the good it did, though — the Brazilians led 13-8 at the halfway timeout. Agatha added an ace on the first ball after the timeout, and it became increasingly clear we'd go to a 3rd again in this match. The Americans didn't side out again until 15-9. They got as close as 4, at 16-12, but the Brazilian tandem put the set away at 21-14 to set up the race to 15.
The decider looked as though it was decided pretty quickly. It was 3-2 through the first side change, but then Maria and Agatha took 3 straight to go up by 4. That prompted the Americans' timeout, and I have to say Jen looked a little worried. But they really did buckle down from there, with great serving pressure (as always) leading the way as they came back to tie the set at 9-all. That got the Brazilians to call their timeout. After a stretch of sideouts, the Brazilians got to match point at 14-12 with a block up the middle, and a crosscourt kill by Agatha sent them to the gold medal final. Agatha jumped into Maria's arms like Yogi Berra into Don Larsen's after the final point fell in.
And then I thought there was a 45 minute wait until the next match, but when I came back, it was already in its third set 🙁 It's a stupid feeling, the feeling that you can't read a schedule. And it's no fun to feel stupid.
Ricardo/Álvaro Filho vs. Gibb/Patterson
I was more interested in this match anyway, but yeah. Stupidity sucks.
Slight advantage to the Americans early on, as they led 8-6 after two side changes. They extended to three at 11-8 following a great long rally where Patterson simply beat Alvaro at the net (slightly odd how they ended up matching up at the net in the first place), and it was 12-9 at the automatic timeout. The set was mostly just sideout after sideout, but the Americans found tiny little advantages to exploit here and there, which is the name of the game in beach volleyball. When their lead extended to four at 15-11, Brazil expended their timeout. They cut it back to two at 15-13 on a great, long rally, which I believe was the first time the Americans failed to side out in the set. But no matter — Patterson got the point back with an ace on 16-13 to make it a 4-point set again. The Brazil side briefly pulled back within 2 again, but a hitting error from Alvaro — upon replay, a pretty close call actually — ended the first set at 21-17.
Then to start the 2nd set, Alvaro had some serious troubles clearing the net. His errors were both forced and unforced, but he made two in a row (along with a few late in set 1) to visibly disgust his veteran partner who called time at 4-0 USA. The run extended to 7-0 — a whitewash of the first slate of points — before Alvaro finally got the sideout. Spotting a team seven is an almost surefire way to lose a match, and Casey and Spiker (that's Gibb's actual middle name — fitting, eh?) made sure not to cough it up. It was mostly even after the early whitewash; 13-8 was the score at the automatic timeout, but the Brazilians didn't even stay that close for long. Really, it was just a dreadful match for young Alvaro. No other way to say it. The American team quickly extended back to 7 and reached a maximum advantage of 10 by getting to match point at 20-10. They needed three shots at it, but easily closed out the match.
Kessy/Ross vs. Maria Clara/Carolina
And here, the hardware started getting handed out. I found it interesting (yes, fashion alert) that while both teams wore cold weather gear for this match, it was opposite cold weather gear — the Brazilians wore bikini tops and long tights, while the Americans wore sleeved tops and bikini bottoms. It was a small disappointment to see Jen and April here rather than the nightcap, but it's still an improvement over China.
The Salgado sisters held the early lead, up 2 points after two side changes. At 10-8, Jen shrieked for April to hit line, and she hit angle. It worked, though. A hitting error from Maria Clara brought the set even at 11 on the first rally after the technical timeout. On 13-all, the Americans had a shot to take the lead, as some defence from April kept the ball alive — only for Jen to shank the free ball into the net. Those things happen. On the next rally, a Brazilian "over-dig" came back untouched, and it appeared to land in to my view. The flagger called it out, and then the up ref climbed down to take a look himself — and gave the point to the Brazilians. Seemed like the right call. They added one on serve to go up 17-14, and then pushed their lead to four after a long rally which followed. The crowd were quite partisan to the Brazilians, and roared their delight after that point. The Americans called time there, but the set really only continued to slip further away from them, with 21-16 the final.
Jen and April responded nicely to their loss in set 1. After it was even through the first seven, the Americans surged ahead by 4 thanks to another great run on serve for April Ross (seriously, is the Server of the Year award just hers to lose, or what?). The sisters got one back on serve to make it 8-6 at the second change. Their first serve after the change went straight into the net, but the camera caught Jen still get into good reception position. Reminded of a catcher in baseball trying to throw a runner out stealing, only to have the batter make contact with the ball. 11-9 was the longest rally of the set, if not the match. Great defence from both sides to keep balls impossibly alive. It ended with another "over-dig" that landed in, for a point to the Brazilians to draw within one at the midway timeout.
And they made it back even at 12-all shortly after the timeout, only to have the Americans go on top again with more great serving from April (another ace to lead the way). On 14-13, it looked like Jen's hit landed wide (well, the hit did land wide, that just wasn't the call), but the sisters were whistled for a net fault to negate it. Jen kept her next swing in to put herself and April up by 3 at 16-13. The sisters staved off the set point on reception, and then the long arms of Carolina took care of the second as well. With just one more set point in hand, the Americans called time. Jen's kill eliminated the need for extras, as the Americans converted to win 21-19 in set 2.
The Brazilians took three of the first four in the decider, and had the shot to go up by 3 points on the 4-2 rally. The serve reception from the American side was poor, leading to an easy hitting opportunity for Carolina, but Jen redeemed the reception mistake with a beautifully-timed block. Not to be deterred, though, the sisters did indeed go up 3 a little later on the first rally after the second side change, attaining a 7-4 lead with a crosscourt kill. That margin held to the third side change, at 9-6. But when the Americans closed back to within a single point at 9-8, the Salgados called time. The run continued after the timeout, with the Americans going up 10-9 and, at least for a moment, quieting the crowd (who were very much supporting the Brazil team).
It was 10-all at the fourth side change, and the Brazilians got one of their points back on a rally it looked like they had lost several times. A block up the middle got them their 2-point lead back, and Jen and April called time. But if that timeout iced anyone, it was only Jen and April themselves, as they misplayed Carolina's serve to let it land in for an ace. They reached bronze medal point at 14-10, but needed every point they had in hand as the final in the third was 15-13. That's a second straight bronze for the sisters, and what, despite improvements over China, must be another powerful disappointment for the Americans.
Maria/Agatha vs. Meppelink/Van Gestel
Those Brazil supporters had another hour (give or take) of championship entertainment to look forward to. It was surely a chilly night in Corrientes (the match started a quarter of 9 in the evening local time) that would decide whom would receive gold and whom silver.
At first, it was everything the Brazil-supporting fans could have asked for, with their team up 5-2 at the first side change. Meppelink and Van Gestel quickly had the equaliser, though, to bring the set even at 5, and it remained tied through to the second side change. The Dutch team took the next three, alternating kills (Meppelink, Van Gestel, Meppelink) to prompt Brazil's timeout. The lead held up to the halfway timeout at 12-9, and the Dutch team built on it afterward. Meppelink came up with back-to-back aces to make it 15-9 — the first was one of those I understand why some people hate (crawled over the net and down — nothing whatsoever Maria and Agatha could have done about it), but the second was 'legit.' The Brazilians ate into the lead a little as the set wore on, but never got closer than 3. Meppelink put away the final kill for a 21-17 first set win.
The Dutch girls were the first to score on serve in set 2, going up first at 4-2, which became 7-2 at the Brazil team's timeout. Maria and Agatha were able to regroup a little, trading sideouts for a little while and then cutting the set back as close as 2 at 1o-8. At that point, the Dutch scored three straight to bring it back to a 5-point set. Oddly enough, this got pretty big cheers from the crowd. I think maybe they were just ready to go home by this point. Then, just like in set number 1, the Brazilians cut in little by little. The difference was, this time they did come even, first at 18-all. The Dutch team kept siding out, and reached gold medal point on serve at 20-19. A beautifully-timed middle block from Madelein Meppelink got the Dutch team the gold — and they were clearly excited about that!
Full Day Three results
Men
Knockout Round 2
Dollinger/Windscheif (GER) d. Kufa/Hadrava (CZE) (21-12, 21-17) More the performance you'd expect from the #32 seeds.
J Smedins/Samoilovs (LAT) d. Doppler/Horst (AUT) (21-18, 29-27)
Vitor Felipe/Evandro (BRA) d. Spijkers/Varenhorst (NED) (16-21, 21-18, 15-10)
Pedro/Bruno (BRA) d. Gabathuler/Weingart (SUI) (21-18, 26-24)
Nicolai/Lupo (ITA) d. Erdmann/Matysik (GER) (17-21, 21-16, 16-14)
Fijalek/Prudel (POL) d. Brouwer/Meeuwsen (NED) (18-21, 21-16, 15-7)
Ricardo/Álvaro Filho (BRA) d. Ingrosso/Ingrosso (ITA) (21-18, 21-19)
Gibb/Patterson (USA) d. Alison/Emanuel (BRA) (24-22, 16-21, 15-12)
Quarterfinals
J Smedins/Samoilovs d. Dollinger/Windscheif (21-9, 21-13)
Pedro/Bruno d. Vitor Felipe/Evandro (21-10, 21-18)
Nicolai/Lupo d. Fijalek/Prudel (21-18, 18-21, 15-11)
Gibb/Patterson d. Ricardo/Álvaro Filho (21-17, 21-13)
Tomorrow's schedule
Semifinals
J Smedins/Samoilovs vs. Pedro/Bruno
Nicolai/Lupo vs. Gibb/Patterson
Winners to square off for gold and silver, losers to meet for bronze
Women
Quarterfinals
Maria Clara/Carolina (BRA) d. Bieneck/Großner (GER) (19-21, 21-11, 15-4) That has the look of someone sustaining an injury midway through the match
Meppelink/Van Gestel (NED) d. Borger/Büthe (GER) (21-13, 21-19)
Maria/Agatha (BRA) d. Holtwick/Semmler (GER) (22-24, 21-19, 16-14) Not such a hot day for Deutschland
Kessy/Ross (USA) d. Liliana/Baquerizo (ESP) (21-11, 13-21, 15-12)
Semifinals
Meppelink/Van Gestel d. Maria Clara/Carolina (26-24, 18-21, 15-10)
Maria/Agatha d. Kessy/Ross (15-21, 21-14, 15-12)
Bronze medal final
Maria Clara/Carolina d. Kessy/Ross (21-16, 19-21, 15-13)
Gold medal final
Meppelink/Van Gestel d. Maria/Agatha (21-17, 21-19)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
