Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were in the groove when they beat Cuba’s Dalixia Fernandez Grasset and Tamara Larrea 21-15, 21-16 for their 103rd consecutive victory. The top women’s team in the world took just 36 minutes to top the Cubans.

“I think each time Misty and I step on the court we need to improve,” Walsh told NBC after the match. They did. Playing in Beijing drizzle in their opening match Saturday, May-Treanor and Walsh allowed the Japanese team of Teru Saiki/Kusuhara to get closer than they should have, despite winning in straight sets.

May-Treanor told NBC they have made the adjustments and are ready to go. “We know the goal. We’re focused.”

They were certainly free of one distraction: The absence of Walsh’s wedding ring. She lost it during a block in their first match. Walsh couldn’t delay the match, but it was found later after grounds crews scoured the sand with metal detectors and security wands. Walsh is married to fellow AVP player Casey Jennings.

In the late game for Tuesday, (early morning OC time) Costa Mesa’s Jake Gibb and teammate Sean Rosenthal face Germany’s Brink/Dieckmann. Gibb and Rosenthal won their first match, sweeping the Dutch team of Boersma/Ronnes in pouring rain 21-16, 21-15.

The rest of this week’s scheduled preliminary matches are:

Wednesday
Rogers/Dalhausser vs. Conde/Baracetti (Argentina)
Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs vs. Esteves Ribalta/Crespo (Cuba)

Thursday
Walsh/May-Treanor vs. Hakedal/Torlen (Norway)
Gibb/Rosenthal vs. Asahi/Shiratori (Japan)
In the Olympic tournament, the top two teams of each pool advance to the elimination Round of 16, along with the two best
third-placed teams. The remaining four third-placed teams play two Playoffs for the final two places in the Round of 16. Those matches take place on Friday. Quarterfinals begin on Saturday.

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