“People should realize what a risk April took to take me on as a partner because when we joined together I had less than a year of experience on the beach and was not playing at a high level,” said Klineman. Ross called her decision to pair with Klineman one of the best she has ever made.įor Klineman, she is grateful that Ross had faith in her. In 2019, Ross and Klineman finished second at the world championships, just ahead of Artacho del Solar and Clancy who were third. They climbed from seventh in world rankings in 2018 to second place in 20 (behind Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan, who were knocked out in the 2020 Olympic quarterfinals by the Australians). Since then, they have developed consistency. It was Ross’s first FIVB World Tour win since 2016. The Ross/Klineman match-up proved solid from their first FIVB World Tour event in January 2018, which they won. “Our communication and respect for each other is really honestly off the charts,” said Ross, who has had several beach volleyball partners in her long career, including Kessey and Walsh Jennings. She also saw someone who was willing to work as a true team, respecting what they each bring to the game and with the constant desire to improve. By the end of 2017, Klineman was named the AVP rookie of the year, and Ross saw potential, along with a strong work ethic. “Maybe down the road we’ll play together,” Ross mentioned, but added that Klineman needed to improve first.Īnd improve she did. Ross had just split from her partnership with Walsh Jennings, and Klineman mentioned that she had switched to beach volleyball. In late April 2017, Klineman ran into Ross at a music festival. ![]() With no substitutions and only two people on the court, beach takes explosive power and endurance. Maybe the sand held a viable path to the Olympic Games.Īlthough many indoor volleyball players have transitioned to the beach (Ross and four-time Olympic medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings among them), the two disciplines are very different. Olympic Team, she considered switching to the beach. But she always missed making crucial national team rosters. “You Deserve the Gold! You Brought your ‘A’ Game to the A-team!”įor Ross, a beach volleyball veteran, the gold medal didn’t happen with Klineman, an indoor volleyball player in her youth and through college at Stanford (where she became the second player ever to record over 2,000 kills).Īfter graduating from Stanford in 2011, Klineman wanted to continue her volleyball career, with the goal of competing for Team USA at the Olympic Games. “Wow! You did it Ladies, Congratulations!” he tweeted. ![]() T, of the 1980s TV show “The A-Team,” chimed in. I'm just so proud of our team and so grateful for everyone who helped us get here.”Įven the entertainer and professional wrestler known as Mr. “It's kind of a fairy tale story, like, oh, you know, I'm going on 39 to try and get my gold medal, and the fact that it actually happened feels so special and surreal. “I can't fathom that it worked out the way it did,” said Ross as she held her gold medal. Klineman - a physically gifted volleyball player at 6’5” - had switched to beach volleyball just a few months earlier. Ross partnered with Klineman, 31, in 2017 after splitting with Walsh Jennings. It’s Klineman’s first Olympic Games and first medal. She also won a silver medal with Jennifer Kessey at the 2012 Olympic Games and bronze with Kerri Walsh Jennings in 2016. Ross, 39, is a three-time Olympian but this is her first gold medal. has won four of the past five Olympic women’s beach volleyball gold medals. ![]() With the win, Ross and Klineman bring the Olympic gold medal back to U.S. That's the team that has given us a lot of trouble in the past, and we just put it all out there and trusted our abilities.” “We have to work so hard to win points against the Australian team. ![]() “It didn't feel dominant,” said Klineman, who worked the net and scored 10 kills. Give it up for the A-Team! □ #TokyoOlympics /ZcUwDi1WId- Team USA August 6, 2021 In women’s beach volleyball, the two Americans known as “The A Team” dominated Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy, winning in two sets (21-15, 21-16). TOKYO - For April Ross and Alix Klineman, the 2020 Olympic Games Tokyo are like a fairy tale. April Ross and Alix Klineman celebrate after winning gold at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Aug.
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