Olympic Beach Volleyball 2012: Don't Sleep on Jen Kessy and April Ross in Final

Jen Kessy and April Ross roared back from a one-set deficit to defeat the No. 1 ranked Brazilian powerhouse team made up of Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva to advance to the beach volleyball gold-medal match at the 2012 London Olympics.

Not only did they assure that they would have a chance at the gold medal, they made sure that the world would be subject to an all-American final.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh defeated rivals Chen Xue and Xi Zhang in relatively easy fashion in the first match of the day to reach the final. They are legends of the sport and are looking to bring home their third gold in as many Olympic Games.

The more seasoned of the two teams, May-Treanor and Walsh are definitely the favorites to win it all, but don't sleep on their American counterparts.

Kessy and Ross did more than guarantee a silver medal, they proved that they deserve to be considered one of the best duos in the sport of beach volleyball.

They found themselves down one set to none against their Brazilian rivals and appeared demoralized after a 21-15 drubbing in the opener. Franca and Silva were firing on all cylinders and looked to be the better team, but the Americans showed plenty of resiliency.

In a marathon set that lasted 23 minutes, Kessy and Ross came from behind to even the set count at two. The tide had turned rapidly, and the Brazilians were now the one's who looked broken. Kessy and Ross went on to win the third set, 15-12. 

Franca and Silva were the top-ranked team in the world heading into the matchup and owned the Americans in the past. They hadn't lost a set in the Olympic Games, dominating all of the competition.

It looked like nothing would stop them in their quest to dethrone May-Treanor and Walsh as the defending gold medalists. It was not their day, though.

Although they are still two of the best in the sport, May-Treanor and Walsh aren't what they used to be. If Kessy and Ross were able to upset the Brazilians, they surely have more than a puncher's chance at beating their fellow countrywomen.

It would be hard to pick against May-Treanor and Walsh, as they have experienced a gold-medal match before. Their dominance is unprecedented, but Kessy and Ross are hungry to wear the gold around their necks.

You would be foolish to count Kessy and Ross out on Wednesday, August 8 at 4 p.m. ET.