Olympic Volleyball 2012: Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Day 1 Results

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh put on a strong performance and defeated Australia’s Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley to start their defense of the gold medal in women’s beach volleyball.

May-Treanor and Walsh took the first set 21-18 then quickly finished off the match with a 21-19 victory in the second set.

The victory in consecutive sets does not give the Australians the credit they deserve, as they remained competitive throughout the match. When it came down to crucial points though, May-Treanor and Walsh were extremely sharp.

The two teams went back and forth for the entire first set, before the May-Treanor and Walsh pulled away at the very end.

In the second set, the Aussies picked up the pace and took a 13-9 lead at one point, but it wasn’t enough. The Americans came back and, after an incredible rally with a 20-19 lead, May-Treanor and Walsh smashed home the game-winning point. 

May-Treanor and Walsh looked poised and ready to repeat their accomplishments from the previous two Olympics.

The Americans came to London as the third-ranked team in the world, and a third gold medal is anything but certain.

The opening-round win bodes well for their chances, as does a shocking loss by the Chinese team of Zhang Xi and Xue Chen, who were one of the favorites in the competition. 

Since Beijing, May-Treanor, 34, suffered an Achilles injury while competing on Dancing with the Stars, and Walsh, 33, has had two children.

But the two decided that they would give it one more shot, and they certainly look motivated to end their Olympic careers in style.

The Americans will have tomorrow off before taking on the Czech team of Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova on Monday, July 30, at 6 p.m. ET.

All scores, schedules and live stream information can be found at NBCOlympics.com.