Beach volleyball gold goes to Americans

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won their second consecutive Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball Thursday and their 108th match in a row.

In what was likely their final appearance on the international stage, the superstars of their sport defeated China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie in two riveting sets -- 21-18, 21-18 -- to become the first women to win gold in two straight Olympics.

It was their 19th straight tournament victory. Walsh and May-Treanor did not lose a set in the seven matches they played in Beijing.

The rain that fell during the match did not dampen the quality of play, with the Chinese giving the Americans all they wanted. It was the eighth time the teams had met and the Americans have a 6-2 record against China's top duo.

The first set was deadlocked at 17-17 before the Americans ran off three straight points. They converted on their second set point.

Tian and Wang again made their opponents work, fighting to an 18-18 tie in the second set. But Walsh and May-Treanor quickly won three straight points to end the match -- Walsh making the final spike.

"Before we even started playing the match, I started to tear up," May-Treanor said. "I said to myself that I had to save the crying for afterwards. We're bringing home the gold."

In the bronze medal match, Xue Chein and Zhang Xi scored a straight-sets victory over Renate Riberio and Talita Rocha of Brazil.