U.S. podium hopefuls Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth were upset by Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes in straight sets and eliminated from the Paris Olympics women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.
The first set was one of big runs, with Nuss/Kloth finding themselves down 8-6 in the before the duo unleashed a 6-0 run to go up 12-8.
But Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes responded, firing off a 6-0 run of their own to get right back into the set. With wind in Eiffel Tower Stadium playing a factor, the Americans made multiple errors and dropped the first set, 21-19.
Those struggles continued into the second set as Kloth sent errant passes on a number of service returns started to become a target of the Canadians. Wilkerson imposed her will at the net and outplayed Kloth in the battle of the blockers.
Canada led the second set 10-5 at one point, but the United States battled. Nuss/Kloth put together a 4-0 run to make things 10-9. The Americans were able to get within one point, but couldn't power past Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes in a 21-19 Set 2 loss.
The statistics of the match were near identical, but Canada stepped up in the biggest moments when it mattered the most.
The result is a disappointing one for an American team that had big expectations heading into Paris. The United States' gold medal hopes in women's beach volleyball now reside solely on the shoulders of Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes, who face Switzerland tomorrow in the quarterfinals.
Kloth said she was "heartbroken" after the gutting loss.
"Very disappointed," Kloth said. "Excited that I got this opportunity and I got to play with Kristen and that is what I am focusing on."
"We came here wanting to bring home gold back to the United States and that's been our goal for the past four years," Nuss said. "It's a phenomenal Canadian team. We play them a lot and they definitely out-played us today."
Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes — who lost in the Tokyo Olympic quarterfinals with different partners — have a chance at redemption in Paris.