COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 17, 2008) – USA Volleyball has announced the athletes and coaches it will nominate for the U.S. Olympic Beach Volleyball Team that will compete at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, pending confirmation from the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The women’s teams are Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.).
May-Treanor and Walsh’s coach is 1988 indoor volleyball Olympic gold medalist Troy Tanner (California). Branagh and Youngs’ coach is 1988 women’s indoor volleyball Olympian Liz Masakayan (Santa Monica, Calif.).
“USA Volleyball could not be more ecstatic about the quality of athletes comprising our Olympic beach volleyball team,” said Ali Wood Lamberson, USAV’s director of international and high performance beach programs. “Each of our teams has been on top of the FIVB podium at least once this year, and they are all set to peak in August. No doubt it will be a very busy, very exciting Olympic Games.”
Beach volleyball teams qualify for the Olympic Games based on points gained at FIVB international tournaments starting on Jan. 1, 2007 and ending July 20, 2008.
On the women’s side, defending Olympic gold medalists and three time world champions May-Treanor and Walsh have the most points of any beach volleyball team, national or international, and had enough points to qualify at the end of 2007.
Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) had a tougher road and were pressured by their compatriots Jen Boss (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)/April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.)/Rachel Wacholder (Redondo Beach, Calif.) until almost the end of the qualifying period.
Branagh and Youngs gained enough points to be the No. 2 U.S. women’s team with a silver-medal at the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Grand Slam event on July 5 in Moscow, finishing 320 points ahead of Boss and Ross. They are ranked fifth among all qualified teams.
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