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AP
ATHENS, Greece - American beach volleyball stars Misty May and Kerri Walsh were nervous.
Not only was their next match for a berth in Tuesday’s gold-medal game. Their next opponents were the ones who probably knew them the best — fellow Americans Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs.
Not to worry.
May and Walsh, the world’s top-ranked team, made McPeak and Youngs scramble for every point Monday and pulled away in the second set for a 21-18, 21-15 Olympic semifinals victory.
“That was the most stressful match I’ve ever had to play in my life,” Walsh said. “The tension of the Olympic Games, the excitement — it was all bubbling over.”
May and Walsh said they could hardly sleep Sunday night thinking about the match. May was so tense, she read a chapter of “The Da Vinci Code,” and she hardly ever reads books.
“And I could barely eat,” she said. “For me not to eat, that’s a real problem.”
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Both said they would sleep better knowing they are guaranteed to win the first women’s beach medal for the United States.
“I’m drained,” Walsh said. “But I’ll get it all back in 10 minutes and get ready for tomorrow.”
The No. 1 Americans play for the gold Tuesday against second-seeded Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar, who defeated Australians Natalie Cook and Nicole Sanderson 21-17, 21-16 earlier Monday. The Brazilians won the silver in 2000, losing to Cook and Kerri Pottharst.
“I am happy, but it hasn’t finished yet,” Shelda said. “Tomorrow will be the most important match.”
McPeak and Youngs, the No. 4 seeds, will meet the Aussies for the bronze. McPeak, the sport’s all-time winningest female player, said she and Youngs won’t take long to regroup from Monday’s loss.
“We’re obviously disappointed, but we’ve still got a big chance to get on that podium,” McPeak said. “That would be pretty nice to have both our teams up there.”
McPeak and Youngs have been the best team in the world this summer, with six wins and 13 top-10 finishes. But they still couldn’t beat their friendly rivals, losing for the 14th straight time and for the 17th time in 19 meetings.
“I thought we could beat them, I really did,” McPeak said. “But they put more pressure on us than we put on them.”
The match was tied 10-10 in the first set, but the 6-foot-3 Walsh put the top U.S. duo ahead for good with an angled tap over the net. Walsh then blocked a one-handed kill attempt by Youngs and May punched a shot past the backpedaling McPeak and Youngs for a 13-10 lead. Walsh finished the set with an easy kill to open sand.
The teams were tied 7-7 in the second set before May and Walsh mounted a decisive 4-0 run, sending McPeak and Youngs diving and scrambling on every return. McPeak and Youngs staved off two match points before Walsh ended it with another uncontested kill.
“It was definitely disappointing,” McPeak said. “Once you get down three or four to them, it’s very hard to come back.”
“Elaine came right over and said, ‘Kerri, bring home the gold. We’re expecting it,”’ Walsh said, “Then Holly said, ‘You deserve it. Go get it.’ That’s what we intend to do.”
May and Walsh’s next opponents, Shelda and Adriana, are the all-time winningest pair on the international FIVB tour, with 31 victories and more than $1.7 million in earnings.
The Brazilians trailed 17-16 in the first set against Cook and Sanderson, but Adriana punched a kill deep and Shelda blocked Sanderson with her taped right hand to give the Brazilians the lead. Shelda has nerve damage in the hand from a car accident 13 years ago.
The only shaky moment in the second set came when Adriana nonchalantly kicked a ball off the court after a play. It struck a courtside ball girl in the head. Shelda spotted the gaffe, ran to the girl and kissed her on the forehead.
On match point, Adriana pounded a spike that Sanderson couldn’t handle and the Brazilians dropped to their knees and embraced.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
