Olympic Volleyball 2012: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Day 5 Results

Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor got a win, but they struggled—for one set at least—in their preliminary match against Austrian sisters Stefanie and Doris Schwaiger. The dominant duo actually lost a set on their way to winning, 2-1. 

For mortal beach volleyball teams, winning 2-1 just gets filed under the positive category, but for these two, it makes you double-check the score. This is the first time they have ever lost a set in their three Olympic Games appearances—they are now 34-1 in Olympic sets.

USA Volleyball tweeted the results:

"

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh charted a 17-21, 21-8, 15-10 win overAustria’s No. 15 Doris and Stefanie... fb.me/1vcO7p7kq

— USA Volleyball (@USA_Volleyball) Aug. 1, 2012"

On a quest to win their third straight Olympic Games beach volleyball gold, things got off to a stunning start for the pair, as they found themselves in a hole after losing the opening set. In that set, the Austrians opened up a 19-14 lead and went on to win, 21-17. 

Things quickly returned to normal, as the two reclaimed control of the match and won the next two sets.

Reclaiming control is actually not a strong enough term. As if they were angered by the fact that the Austrians had the audacity to beat them in a set, they came back and won the second set, 21-8, and then comfortably closed out the match with a 15-10 win in the third set. 

While the loss of a set proves the duo is not completely unbeatable, it should not be taken as a sign of weakness. It was one set, and it was bound to happen. They proved the fluke-like nature of this loss by pounding their opponents to a defeat in the final two sets. 

That said, things should only get more intense from here. May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings entered these Olympic Games as the world's third-ranked team. 

Rankings aside, I'm certainly not going to bet against them proving that third-place position wrong by claiming another gold. And the way they finished off this match, I'm feeling pretty good about that stance. 

It is now on to the quarterfinals for the golden pair. The women's beach volleyball elimination round begins on Friday, Aug. 3.