Another U.S. team ousted in beach volleyball
Another American team is out at the Olympic beach volleyball tournament.
A Qatari pair that is ranked No. 1 in the world beat Nick Lucena and 2008 gold medalist Phil Dalhausser 14-21, 21-19, 15-11 on Sunday in the first round of knockout play.
The Americans reached the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro before losing to the eventual champions, Brazilians Alison and Bruno Oscar Schmidt.
Dalhausser and Lucena went 2-1 in round-robin play, losing only to a Dutch team that won the world championships in 2013. That left them with a tough matchup against Cherif Samba and Ahmed Tijan, who cruised through the preliminaries without losing a set.
The Americans scored four straight points in the first set to turn a 6-5 edge into a five-point lead and cruised to a 21-14 lead.
The U.S. women’s team of Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes also lost in three sets on Sunday after winning the first set.