Switzerland knocks out Team USA's Sara Hughes, Kelly Cheng in Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinal
The USA beach volleyball duo of Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng saw their Olympic run come to an end Tuesday in a quarterfinal match against Switzerland. The Swiss team of Tanya Huberli and Nina Brunner won both sets to claim the match, including 21-19 in the second set to get the victory.
Switzerland claimed the first set by a score of 21-18 after Huberli delivered an emphatic kill for the set point. That put the pressure on Team USA to win the next set if they wanted to stay alive.
The Americans got down 8-4 early before battling back to make it 10-9. They would eventually take the lead after Hughes scored an ace that dropped right in front of Switzerland to make it 13-12.
Things remained neck-and-neck from there before Switzerland took a 20-19 advantage to set up the match point. With tensions high, the USA managed to return the serve from the Swiss as Nina Brunner kept it alive on the other side. That set up Huberli to make the kill once more as she lightly tapped it over the net for the win.
Hughes and Cheng finished fifth overall to fall short of winning a medal in the event. The former USC teammates made it the furthest of the two women’s USA beach volleyball teams at the Olmypics. The other USA beach volleyball team of Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss was knocked out of contention in the round of 16 on Monday.
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Cheng finished the match with 17 points on 16 kills and a block, and Hughes totaled eight points on five kills and three aces. The U.S. scored on 12 opponent errors, while committing only seven, but could not overcome the margin in kills (26-21) and service aces (7-3). There were only three blocks in the match, two by the Swiss.
“I think we fought back so hard in the first,” Cheng said. “I think I made a few too many errors early on in the first but we came back and just one or two aces and the game is over, you know? I think similarly to the second, I whiffed two balls out and an ace down the middle again and the game is gone.”
With the win Switzerland now advances to face the winner between Spain and Canada in the semifinals, which will take place on Thursday. The gold medal match is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday.