Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil stay perfect in final prelim against Brazil
Sarah Sponcil of Team USA extends for the strike against Team Brazil. (Getty)
MATCH STATS
The U.S. now has two women's beach volleyball teams with perfect 3-0 streaks at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as newcomers Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil downed the Brazilian pair of Ana Patrícia Silva Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti Barbossa Silva in three sets: 17-21, 21-19, 15-11.
Could a potential U.S. medal matchup between Claes/Sponcil and veterans April Ross and Alix Klineman be in the cards?
Claes and Sponcil essentially went point-for-point in set one, until Ana Patricia/Rebecca widened the gap; the second set played out similarly, but ended in the Americans' favor. Team USA opened the third set with a solid lead, up 5 points at 6-1. Brazil improved their game, but couldn't overcome the deficit.
Although Claes and Sponcil had already qualified for the round of 16, their win vaulted them to the top of Pool D -- just above the second-place Brazilians.
2021 NBC Universal
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