Olympics: US beach volleyball legend departs with bronze

United States’ Kerri Walsh Jennings, center, celebrates with teammate April Ross, right, after defeating Brazil during the women’s beach volleyball bronze medal match of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. AP Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO—American beach volleyball legend Kerri Walsh Jennings added Rio Olympics bronze to her collection of gold medals on Wednesday after a stirring third-place play-off win against Brazil.

The three-time Olympic champion and her new partner, April Ross, came off the ropes to defeat Brazilians Talita Rocha and Larissa Franca 17-21, 21-17, 15-9 in front of a partisan crowd under a full moon at Copacabana beach.

Walsh Jennings had never lost an Olympic match until the semi-final defeat to Brazil’s Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk and she looked in no mood to repeat the experience.

Walsh-Jennings came out fired up as she belted a series of spikes but errors crept in as the more subtle Brazilians put the Americans under pressure with their greater variety.

Rocha continually found space with her soft shots at the net and she clinched the first set 21-17 with a trademark touch into space near the right boundary line.

Walsh-Jennings and Ross collided and both hit the deck as they slipped 8-11 behind in the second set before they roared back to take it 21-17 and force the decider.

And after a tight start, they took control of the final set and clinched it 15-9 when Walsh-Jennings blocked Rocha’s spike and Franca’s despairing dive couldn’t keep the ball alive.

Walsh Jennings hugged and kissed her husband, Casey Jennings, after successfully making it onto the podium for the fourth Olympics in a row, this time without her retired former partner Misty May-Treanor./rga