
The U.S. mens teams both advanced to the Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinals in Beijing on Saturday. Although one match was way too close for comfort.
Jake Gibb (of Costa Mesa) and Sean Rosenthal beat Spain’s Pablo Herrera Allepuz and Raul Mesa 26-24, 21-17 in the Round of 16 to keep them on track for a medal.
However, it was the world’s best men’s team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers who had to battle to survive a near upset to Switzerland’s Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider 21-16, 21-23, 15-13.
Struggling again and blowing game two, Dalhausser/Rogers had to claw there way back from a 6-0 deficit in game three to win.
“At no point did I quit,” Rogers told the Associated Press. “But I was thinking it would be a pretty gnarly comeback - if we make the comeback.”
Tied at 10-10 in game three, Dalhausser/Rogers scored three points in a row and held on for the narrow victory.
“I still can’t believe that we came back and won that match,” Dalhausser told AP.
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