Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross fall to Brazil in beach volleyball semis

Kerri Walsh Jennings lost her first Olympic beach volleyball match.

Third-ranked Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross fell to second-ranked Brazilians Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk in the women’s beach volleyball semifinals on Tuesday night in straight sets, marking Walsh Jennings’s first Olympic loss in 27 matches.

The Americans lost a contentious first set, 22–20, and battled in the second but ultimately fell 21–18.

#http://www.120sports.com/video/v195869992/walsh-jennings-and-ross-lose

“We can squash that team,” Walsh Jennings said after the match. “We have in the past. I say that with so much respect for them. They’re very very good. Tonight they rose to the occasion. I certainly did not.”

Walsh Jennings and Ross had not lost a set in Rio, taking down Italy in the round of 16 and Australia in the quarterfinals. They will compete in the bronze-medal match against Brazil’s top-seeded second team of Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca, which was upset by Germany on Tuesday.

Seixas and Bednarczuk will face Laral Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany in the final.