Beach Volleyball

The world’s premiere duo, Long Beach State grad Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, closed pool play undefeated with a victory over Norway.  The victory is their 104th match in a row, and advances them to the round of 16 with a record of 3-0, without having lost a set, or allowing their opponents to score more than 16 points in a set.

Debuting in the very first game of elimination play, May/Walsh looked shaky early, then returned to form, fighting off five set points to take the first set 24-22, then easily taking the second 21-10, knocking the duo from Belgium out of the Olympics.  Goes to show you, even when they’re off their game, they still don’t lose a set.  May/Walsh now advance to the quarterfinals, to be played on Sunday.

Indoor Men’s Volleyball

Still missing head coach Hugh McCutcheon because of the tragic attack on his family, USA Volleyball is still perfect, defeating Bulgaria—the only other undefeated team in their pool—in four sets.  Long Beach State grad David Lee had a team-leading 7 blocks, while fellow alums Tom Hoff and Scott Touzinsky contributed off the bench.  The victory guarantees Team USA a spot in the quarterfinals, but they’ll face Japan and China first.

Men’s Water Polo

A team with a slew of Long Beach high school grads, Team USA had a disappointing outing against Serbia—who coach Schroeder calls the best team in the world—losing a defensive battle by a score of 4-2.  The loss drops them to 2-1, facing powerhouse Croatia next. 

Women’s Water Polo

Team USA finally looked like the top team in the world; they struggled before, barely beating China and playing to a draw against Italy.  Then they dominated Russia, 12-7, firing on all cylinders on both sides of the pool.  The victory secures the pool championship for the Americans, and advances them to the next round with momentum.

Indoor Women’s Volleyball

In the most thrilling indoor volleyball match of the Olympics (thus far) the American women rallied to beat China in the fifth set of their match.  The victory secures them a spot in the quarterfinals next week, though they’ll conclude pool play against Poland on Sunday first.  LBSU grad Danielle Scott-Arruda had 19 points (including the game-winning block) and fellow alum Tayyiba Haneef-Park added nine.

Long Beach’s Olympic Record: 14-2-1