Medal table | Olympic schedule | How to watch | Olympic news
In a thrilling match, American Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes defeated Italian Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti in beach volleyball on Sunday, qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games.
The sides split the first two sets, resulting in a winner-take-all third set in the elimination match. Cheng and Hughes jumped to an 11-5 lead in the final set, but Gottardi and Menegatti fought back with four straight points to keep the pressure on Team USA.
USA scored a kill to stop the run and moved to a 14-11 lead to serve for match point. Italy responded with a kill to regain serve. But Cheng sealed the match with a kill at the net for the 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-12) USA victory.
The Americans advance to the quarterfinals to face Switzerland’s Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli. The Swiss won 2-0 (23-21, 21-16) against Spain’s Liliana Fernández and Paula Soria Gutierrez in their round of 16 match on Sunday.
The United States and Switzerland each have a day off before their quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Former USC teammates now 3 wins away from Olympic gold
Hughes and Cheng are now 4-0 in Paris, where they are both seeking their first Olympic medal. The Paris Games are Hughes’ first. Cheng was eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2021 Tokyo Games, playing with Sarah Sponcil. Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman won gold in Tokyo.
Cheng has since reunited with Hughes, her former teammate at USC. The duo helped lead USC to the inaugural NCAA beach volleyball championships in 2016 and 2017, including an undefeated 36-0 season in 2016. They first played together as pros in 2017 but split to play with different partners ahead of the Tokyo Games.
In 2022, the two teamed up again and won the 2023 World Championship in Mexico, defeating reigning champions Eduarda Lisboa and Ana PatrÃcia Ramos of Brazil.
Sunday’s win means they remain undefeated at the Olympics and just three wins away from an Olympic gold medal.
