Olympic Beach Volleyball 2012: Women's Semifinal Previews
Will we see an all-American final in women's beach volleyball at the 2012 Olympic Games, or will Brazil and China be represented in the gold-medal match?
Both scenarios are possible.
The lovely ladies of the beach have battled their way from group play to get to this point, and all four teams remaining are worthy of contending for the ultimate prize.
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Let's take a look at both of the semifinals matches, and I'll give you my predictions for both.
USA's April Ross and Jennifer Kessy vs. Brazil's Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca
Kessy and Ross will have to be at the top of their game to defeat the Brazilians. Silva and Franca have not lost a single set so far in these Olympics. Combined with their stellar performance on the Swatch World Tour this year, it's hard to see the Americans winning this match.
Kessy and Ross have won every match they've played so far, but they did lose two sets during pool play. Additionally, they lost 130 points in pool play, while Silva and Franca lost only 76.
Silva and Franca are on a serious roll right now, and Kessy and Ross will be hard pressed to defeat them.
Prediction: Silva and Franca win the match in three sets.
USA's Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings vs. China's Xue Chen and Zhang Xi
May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings have been the queens of the beach for many years now. They won gold in Athens in 2004 and then again in Beijing in 2008. They hadn't even lost a single set until their match against the Schwaiger sisters of Austria in pool play this year.
That said, they won't have an easy time of it against Xue and Zhang.
This Chinese duo has been on fire in 2012, winning more on the Swatch World Tour than any other duo. They struggled early on in pool play, though, losing their first match. That loss hasn't affected their confidence, though, as they have lost only one set since then, in their second game of pool play.
Since then, Xue and Zhang have been playing like they did all year leading up to the Olympics. They'll be hard to beat.
Prediction: I know it's a cop out, but this one's a toss up. Either team could win.
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