Men’s Water Polo
In the biggest upset of the Olympics (at least in the pool), the US Men’s team defeated number-one ranked Croatia by a score of 7-5. It had been assumed that Croatia would defeat the US Men easily, keeping them out of the next round. Instead, buoyed by 5 goals from three Long Beach high school grads (three by star Tony Azevedo, and one each by Ryan Bailey and Adam Wright). The game also showcased the amazing skills of goalie Merrill Moses, who is having an unbelievable run in his first Olympics. The team is now 3-1, but will need to beat Germany in their final remaining pool play game to advance to the quarterfinals.
Men’s Indoor Volleyball
Featuring head coach Hugh McCutcheon’s first game with the team after the tragic murder of his father-in-law, the US Men continued to look special, defeating host country China in straight sets to improve to 4-0 in pool play. They’ve already qualified for the quarterfinals, which begin next week, but they’ll still have one more pool play game against Japan on Monday. LBSU grads Tom Hoff (the team’s captain) and Scott Touzinsky both played well as subs, and fellow alum David Lee scored nine points (five kills, two blocks, and two aces).
Beach Volleyball
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh handled the Brazilian team in the quarterfinals, advancing to the semis, where they’ll play the winner of a quarterfinal match between Australia and Brazil’s other duo. The victory extends May/Walsh’s winning streak to 106. The last time they lost? August 19, 2007, exactly one year prior to their next match, in the Olympic semifinals.
Women’s Indoor Volleyball
On the final day of pool play, the US Women’s Volleyball team came up with a huge win against Poland, battling back from down 2-1 sets to beat the Polish team, which had been looking for an upset. The five-set thrilling victory means that the US finishes 4-1 at the end of pool play, and will be advancing to the quarterfinals next week. LBSU grads Danielle Scott-Arruda and Tayyiba Haneef-Park scored seven points between them, and Arruda had the game winning stuff block. Quarterfinal play will take place on August 19th, be sore to check back later for our TV Schedule.
Marathon
Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, a former LBCC athlete, ran in the Olympic marathon this weekend, ultimately not finishing because of a knee injury. “A few days ago, I was sitting in a shuttle in the Village and banged my knee, right in the middle. It’s been stiff, with not much range of motion. I was hoping for the best, hoping it would warm up, but it just got stiffer and stiffer,” Lewy-Boulet said in a statement. “My fitness is fine. It’s just that I couldn’t bend it (the knee).” She was disappointed to be one of the thirteen runners who dropped out (over ten percent of the field), but said afterwards that she’s determined to try again.
Thus far all teams with Long Beach players are guaranteed to advance at least into the quarterfinals, with the exception of the Men’s Water Polo team. Check back here later today for a schedule of when to see those late-round matches!
Long Beach’s Olympic Record in 2008: 18-2-1