The U.S. now has two women's beach volleyball teams with perfect 3-0 streaks at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as newcomers Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil downed the Brazilian pair of Ana Patrícia Silva Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti Barbossa Silva in three sets: 17-21, 21-19, 15-11.
Could a potential U.S. medal matchup between Claes/Sponcil and veterans April Ross and Alix Klineman be in the cards?
Claes and Sponcil essentially went point-for-point in set one, until Ana Patricia/Rebecca widened the gap; the second set played out similarly, but ended in the Americans' favor. Team USA opened the third set with a solid lead, up 5 points at 6-1. Brazil improved their game, but couldn't overcome the deficit.
Although Claes and Sponcil had already qualified for the Round of 16, their win vaulted them to the top of Pool D -- just above the second-place Brazilians.