Nina Brunner/Tanja Huberli of Switzerland muscled past Australia’s Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho (21-17, 21-15) to win bronze in the Olympic women’s beach volleyball tournament.
Huberli — one of the premier blockers in the world — was a force at the net as Clancy/Artacho had no answers for the 6-foot-3 star. Whether she was dropping the hammer with a spike or using her touch to float shots over the Australians, Huberli was on another level in the bronze medal match.
Australia also made multiple uncharacteristic errors. The Tokyo silver medalists fumbled multiple serves and even ran into each other late in the match.
A 5-0 run gave Brunner/Huberli a 12-8 lead in the first set, which they held comfortably.
The Swiss took another commanding lead in the second set, riding the dominance of Huberli and the consistency of Brunner to a bronze medal.
Brunner/Huberli made it back-to-back bronze medals for Switzerland, as Jona Mader/Anouk Verge-Depre won bronze in Tokyo.