American beach volleyball player Phil Dalhausser won’t be winning his second Olympic gold medal, as he and partner Nick Lucena were eliminated in the quarterfinal round Monday.
Dalhausser and Schmidt ran into the Brazilian tandem of Alison and Bruno Schmidt in the quarterfinals, with Alison and Bruno Schmidt taking the match in three sets, 21-14, 12-21, 15-9. The meeting came earlier in the tournament than many expected, with Alison and Bruno Schmidt finishing second in their group being the reason why.
WATCH: U.S. men’s beach volleyball eliminated by Brazil
After two points scored by the Americans cut Brazil’s advantage in the first set to 11-10, Alison and Bruno Schmidt went on a 5-1 run to gain control. Dalhausser and Lucena would close the margin to three at 16-13, but Alison and Bruno Schmidt closed the set on a 9-1 run. Dalhausser would rebound in the second set, scoring the first five points of the set and going on to even the match at one set apiece with a 21-14 victory.
But in the third set Alison and Bruno Schmidt regained control of the match with a 4-0 run to make the score 10-5. Dalhausser and Lucena would get no closer than four the remainder of the match, with Alison and Bruno Schmidt advancing to the semifinal round as a result. Next up for Alison and Bruno Schmidt will be Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands.
