It’s extra sweet to see the team that you’ve been cheering and rooting from the very beginning to come out on top at the Olympics! Everyone brings their A game to the biggest stage in sports, and ATeam surely did not disappoint. They won all 7 matches, only dropping one set along the way to get to the Gold Medal.
ATeam opened their first match of Pool Play with a straight set victory (21-17, 21-19) over China’s Xinxin Wang/Chen Xue. They held the lead for much of Set 1. China served tougher in Set 2 and they led by two points maximum, trading sideouts for much of it. Late into Set 2, China got a block on Alix Klineman, taking the lead at 19-18. April Ross and Alix called a timeout, came back onto the court and won the next three points, winning their first Olympics match.
ATeam started off the first match of the day in Shiokaze Park, the beach volleyball stadium, playing against Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez in their second pool play match. ATeam came away with the straight set decisive victory (21-13, 21-16). April had 4 aces in the pouring rain. Alix was also highly efficient in attacking. In Set 2, they were up 19-13 and Spain went on a 3-0 points run, only for Alix to close out the match with another block.
The last pool play match was played in torrential rain. Besides the four players on the court, everyone else was wearing a rain poncho. ATeam were pushed, but ultimately won in tiebreak (20-22, 21-17, 15-5) against the Netherland’s Sanne Keizer/Madelein Meppelink. In Set 1, both teams traded sideouts until the Dutch drew two points clear. ATeam trailed for most of Set 2, until coming back from the technical timeout. Alix got a couple blocks to level the match. Set 3 was when the ATeam became unstoppable. Alix served three aces in a row and on match point, the Dutch team overpassed the ball, resulting in an easy kill from Alix up at the net. They went on a 10-2 points run. With the win, they officially topped Pool B and will be headed to the elimination rounds as the 2 seed. Pool B was composed of 6 former Olympians. Their coach Angie Akers was the former coach of the Dutch team until her contract with the Netherlands expired last year and she did not renew it. The Dutch team lost all three of their pool play matches, which all went to three sets.
ATeam played the Cuban team of Lidy/Leila in the Round of 16 match, putting an end to the losing streak of USAV from the day before. They won in straight sets (21-17, 21-15). From the scores, one would not be able to tell that they held a comfortable lead in Set 1 but early on in Set 2, they were down 1-6 at the first side switch, which looked worrisome. Then they were down 5-9, when April Ross went on a service run to bring them up 11-10 by the technical timeout. A few timely aces and blocks from the team, along with Cuba’s unforced errors gave them a comfortable lead to close out the match.
ATeam played Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Maggie Kozuch in the Quarterfinals. Ludwig is the gold medalist from the Rio 2016 Olympics with her then partner Kira Walkenhorst. Like Alix Klineman, Kozuch was an indoor volleyball player who transitioned to the beach. In Set 1, ATeam jumped off to an early 5-2 lead at the first side switch, but Germany tied it at 7-7 at the next side switch. Germany led 12-9 at the Tech Timeout, with Alix coming back with two back-to-back blocks to tie it 12-12. They continued to trade the 1 point lead until Germany made some errors at the tail end of the set. ATeam started off well again in Set 2, but Germany overtook the lead 11-10 at the tech timeout. The two teams traded sideouts once again, taking turns taking the 1 point lead. April came up with some timely aces to regain the lead. Kozuch served into the net, giving ATeam the match point. A sideout later, they won the match in straight sets (21-19, 21-19).
ATeam played Switzerland’s Anouk Verge Depre/Joana Heidrich in the Semifinals. Both the Swiss players previously competed in the Rio Olympics with different partners, who retired after the last Olympics. In Set 1, ATeam built a 10-3 lead and never looked back. The beginning of Set 2 started off more evenly until ATeam once again built a lead to 13-8 at the Tech Timeout. ATeam was able to transition their serves into points with Alix getting a lot of touches on the blocks and April digging the kills from Switzerland. At the end, ATeam won with an excellent performance in a straight set victory (21-12, 21-11).
ATeam played Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar/Taliqua Clancy in the Gold Medal Match. April Ross and Alix Klineman came storming out of the gates, establishing a lead early on. In Set 1, they had a 13-8 lead going into the Tech Timeout. The service pressure was there from the beginning, allowing them to have a cushion of points, even if they made some errors at the later part of the match. In Set 2, Australia won the first rallies to win the first two points. April Ross went on a 10-0 points service run, stressing out the Australians. Although Australia tried to save a couple of gold medal match points, they served the last ball into the net for USA to take the convincing straight set victory (21-15, 21-16). Like the semifinals the day before, ATeam showed pure domination from start to finish. They had 7 aces in the match, along with 2 blocks from Alix.
With the Tokyo Gold medal, April finishes her collection of Olympic medals, one in each color (Silver in 2012 London, Bronze in 2016 Rio, Gold in 2020 Tokyo). She earned the medals all with different partners. She is the first female beach volleyball player to have the full collection of Olympic medals.
It’s only been 4 years since Alix Klineman transitioned to the beach. She had always envisioned herself going to the Olympics for Indoor Volleyball, but at the first Olympics outing, she wins the gold medal!
ATeam also drew the attention and support of Mr. T on Twitter, known for his role in the TV Series The A-Team.
Not only are they known as the #ATeam, they are also known as #TeamHugs, with them hugging it out after every point as a strategic move to have a little more time to breathe after the last play since teams are given 12 seconds after celebrating to serve the next ball. The pair was previously coached by Jennifer Kessy (April’s former partner earning the silver medal in the London Olympics). When the pandemic postponed the Olympics by a year and Jen Kessy had family commitments to move to Maine, Angie Akers became the head coach starting last summer.
Congratulations on the gold! You’ve proven that hard work and determination lead to good things!
TVB and Thai Lakorns 