Volleyball

The U.S. National Volleyball teams, the American superstars and gold-medal favorites are sure to see Olympic success at the 2012 London Games—but not so fast.

Yes, both the women and men’s U.S. volleyball teams are global powerhouses. The men’s national team is ranked No. 5 in the world and the women’s team is ranked No. 1.

The U.S. men’s team is back for the 2012 Olympics as the reigning gold medal champions at the 2008 Beijing Games. As for the women, the national team has medaled in past Olympic Games but have yet to see a gold medal. And it’s looking like this could be their year.

If all goes well, 2012 could be the golden year for U.S. Volleyball with both teams taking the gold.

But the preliminary rounds are just beginning and so far, plenty of athletes have shown that a botch here or a flop there can completely diminish the label of being a “gold medal favorite.”

Both U.S. National teams are strong, but there are a few other countries who will give them a run for their money with surprising defeats and crucial wins.

Men’s Volleyball should watch out for...

Italy

Italy initially lost to Poland in their first game during the preliminaries on July 29th. But the team jumped back for their second game with an incredibly important 3-1 win over Argentina.

Italy will face Great Britain next and will likely see a win then as well. Great Britain is not ranked in the FIVB national rankings. They lost their first game in the preliminary round and surprisingly won their second against Algeria by 3-2.

Italy is showing strong play and determination as they work their way through the first round.

Brazil

Brazil will always be the greatest foe for the U.S. men’s national team. The two national teams have a bit of a rivalry that has developed after Team USA took gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and Brazil claimed silver.

The Brazil men’s national team is ranked No. 1 in the world and will put up tough competition in the 2012 Olympics. Team USA should look out for Brazil who will be looking to clinch the gold medal this year. They’re on the right track so far, defeating Tunisia 3-0 and facing Russia next.

Meanwhile, Women’s Volleyball should watch out for...

Brazil

The Brazilians will also be the U.S. women’s team’s greatest foe as the preliminary rounds progress. Brazil boasts a strong team that is ranked No. 2 in the world right behind the U.S.

The Brazil women’s national team are the reigning gold medal champions from the 2008 Beijing Games. Interestingly enough, the U.S. women’s team won silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. Brazil and USA are flip flopped between men’s and women’s volleyball.

Team USA recently defeated Brazil 3-1 in the preliminary rounds. It was a great feat but not a sign of relief. Brazil is sure to advance and meet the U.S. again in the later rounds.

China

China is ranked No. 3 in the world and won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. The team is undefeated in the preliminary rounds, defeating both Turkey and Serbia. China will be one of the bigger threats for team USA, as they will both likely advance on to the semifinals.

The Chinese women’s national volleyball team has medaled in five Olympic Games so far and will be looking to upgrade their bronze from 2008 to a gold in 2012.

Quick, name a gold medal-winning tandem of American beach volleyball players currently competing at the 2012 Olympics in London. 

Let me rephrase the question.

Name a gold medal-winning tandem of American beach volleyball players currently competing at the 2012 Olympic in London not named Misty May-Treanor or Kerri Walsh.

The majority of Americans wouldn't be able to come up with another duo, but Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser have proven they deserve an ample amount of recognition. 

The pair of elite performers have carved out a place among the game's legendary teams. Since beach volleyball vaulted onto the Olympic scene at the 1996 Atlanta Games, the sport has seen a spike in popularity.

Dalhausser, age 32, and Rogers, age 38, are currently the dominating figures in the men's spectrum, which still seems slow in garnering national attention when compared to the women's competition. 

The duo reigned supreme in Beijing, claiming gold at the 2008 Olympics. Their performance was simply dominant and the 6'9" Dalhausser's was donned "The Beijing Beast" during those Summer Games. 

Four years later, the men aren't so wide-eyed with the Olympic spectacle. They've taken a more relaxed approach during their road to a repeat.

"There was no pressure coming in here really. We talked it out a lot over the last three weeks, hey let's have fun, because we didn't have fun that first week in Beijing, it was nerve-wracking," Rogers told Reuters.

So far, so good.

Rogers and Dalhausser romped Japan's pair in pool play on Sunday, winning in straight sets (21-15, 21-16). The victory came in front of an enthusiastic and entertaining crowd (beach volleyball audiences are unlike any other at the Olympics) that packed London's coolest venue at Horse Guards Parade.

The quest for a second consecutive gold medal is underway. What would another Olympic title mean to the two Californians?

"Legacy," Rogers told USA Today.

"If we won two, you could make a pretty good argument that we're the best men's team ever." Dalhausser  told reporter David Leon Moore. 

Clearly, it's time to start giving these guys some accolades. 

Dalhausser and Rogers currently come in at third on the all-time men's volleyball victory leader board, with 65 wins together. They only trail legendary tandems Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos (114) and Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes (75).

Monetarily, the duo is behind just Kiraly-Steffes in career earnings. Another gold medal would certainly go a long way toward making up ground in that department. 

It would also give the U.S. four gold medals in the sport's five-Olympic existence. 

In an interview with USA Today, Rogers put the tandem's laid-back approach to global domination in perspective.

"To me, it's about keeping perspective," said Rogers, who is nicknamed The Professor. "I find that most people who put pressure on themselves to win don't play as well as they're capable of playing. I mean, we want to win. But as long as I can look back and feel we did everything we could to prepare and to compete, I'm fine with that."

The Americans continue preliminary Olympic action on Tuesday, July 31 against Spain.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings went back to work Monday and took on the Czech Republic duo of Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova. 

In this age of Twitter and live streaming, brought to you by NBC Olympics, a result doesn't stay secret for long. While some may see this match in prime time, others will know that the end result will favor the Americans. 

An article written by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press and posted on Yahoo! reports that May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings were able to hold their own and win in straight sets. 

We now salute Busted Coverage for being ahead of the curve and introducing us to the competition ahead of their match with a splendid slideshow of Kolocova and Slukova. 

They also got us up to speed on the particulars of these ladies who will be prime time starlets for a brief moment in the states. 

Both players are 24; both are single. The team won its first match against Austria 10-21, 21-13 & 15-13.

There is a website dedicated to the two, Kolocova-Slukova.cz that seems to feature a great wealth of information on both players. 

Kolocova calls Prague her home and is studying sports management. If you ever wondered what she looks for in a man, you would have to look like Brad Pitt.  He is listed as the celebrity that she would love to have a dinner date with. 

Slukova is a self-described moody athlete who loves to read and actually started out in gymnastics as a kid. 

The Olympics continue to introduce us to a world of athletes who we are sad only feature every four years.

Follow us on Twitter for more Olympic Glory.

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For almost as long as Cynthia Barboza can remember, there has been something special about the Olympic Games—“Olympic magic,” she calls it.

“Before I even started playing volleyball, I knew that the Olympics were a dream of mine,” recounted Barboza, 25.

“Maybe some kids put small, glow-in-the-dark stars on their ceiling, but I drew Olympic rings, cut them out and put them out there...I wanted a piece of it, I wanted to be a part of it.”

Barboza has nearly fulfilled her dreams in a sport that can only be described as a game of millimeters. In fact, Barboza, a three-time alternate for the United States’ women’s volleyball squad, has been about as close as one can be for more than a decade without joining her team at the pinnacle of athletic competition.

In 2004, the Olympics first became a legitimate possibility for Barboza, then a 17-year-old student-athlete at Wilson Classical High School in her native Long Beach.

Despite the fact that Barboza was the youngest athlete with the national training program and “probably millions of reps” behind most of her competition in the process, she insisted she was “in the mix” before ultimately not making the team.

Barboza was hit hard by the snub—“I was definitely devastated,” she noted, in retrospect—but she was nevertheless determined to improve and crack the squad in 2008.

Four years came and went, and Barboza, then a star athlete and political science student at Stanford, was told that she would once again be resigned to watching the Games from home.

“That day, I cried. I cried really hard,” Barboza admitted. “It’s really hard. I made huge strides as an athlete between 17 and 21. When you get similar feedback, it’s like, ‘I’m in the exact same position?’ The second time around was way more devastating than the first.”

Off the court, Barboza graduated from Stanford in 2009 and, from there, played professionally in Japan, Russia and Italy from 2009-2012.

For the past several years, Barboza played with the national team, helping it qualify for the Olympics once again. But as the qualification process went on, Barboza realized she would be something of a long-shot to make the team.

“It wasn’t surprising to me, based on personnel,” offered Barboza, when asked if she was surprised when told that she would be an alternate for the third time in as many cycles. “I went into my final meeting with thank-you letters for everyone on the coaching staff.

“I knew in my heart that they would say, ‘Thank you for everything that you contributed, but we’re going in a different direction.’”

In years past, Barboza was hit hard by being named an alternate. She insisted that this year’s snub, although devastating in its own right, was different.

“Everyone in our gym is good enough, it’s just about finding that magic mix,” Barboza said. “And I think they did the right thing. There’s a little bit of peace in that, when you know that you weren’t a part of the right fit.

"I’m not saying, ‘Oh, I got screwed, I’m better than so-and-so,’ I don’t believe that was the case. I think the team is going to do really well and I feel connected to it. Even if it wasn’t playing on the court, I feel really connected to the team. I’m proud of myself, I’m proud of everyone who made contributions to this team.”

After three cycles—in which she has been in the mix for each competition before ultimately falling short of joining her squad at the event—Barboza isn’t certain if she’ll make it to the Olympic Games before she walks away from the sport she loves.

This doesn’t exactly sit well with her: “I think I will be disappointed if I don’t make the Games,” she admitted. But Barboza, who may pursue the 2016 Games on the beach volleyball circuit, isn’t dwelling on what has happened in the past, but is looking forward to the future.

“I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be in life. I really believe in serendipity—there’s a plan for me out there,” said Barboza, who hopes to someday get her MBA and put her education to work in the business world.

“If I close my eyes, cry and drop my head down, with my tail between my legs, I can’t see what door life is opening up for me. It’s a difficult period—I just, kind of, had a dream of mine crushed—but I’m going through the rest of my life with my eyes wide open.”

“Whatever it is, I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

Ed Kapp is a Regina-Saskatchewan-based freelance journalist. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations were obtained firsthand.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh put on a strong performance and defeated Australia’s Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley to start their defense of the gold medal in women’s beach volleyball.

May-Treanor and Walsh took the first set 21-18 then quickly finished off the match with a 21-19 victory in the second set.

The victory in consecutive sets does not give the Australians the credit they deserve, as they remained competitive throughout the match. When it came down to crucial points though, May-Treanor and Walsh were extremely sharp.

The two teams went back and forth for the entire first set, before the May-Treanor and Walsh pulled away at the very end.

In the second set, the Aussies picked up the pace and took a 13-9 lead at one point, but it wasn’t enough. The Americans came back and, after an incredible rally with a 20-19 lead, May-Treanor and Walsh smashed home the game-winning point. 

May-Treanor and Walsh looked poised and ready to repeat their accomplishments from the previous two Olympics.

The Americans came to London as the third-ranked team in the world, and a third gold medal is anything but certain.

The opening-round win bodes well for their chances, as does a shocking loss by the Chinese team of Zhang Xi and Xue Chen, who were one of the favorites in the competition. 

Since Beijing, May-Treanor, 34, suffered an Achilles injury while competing on Dancing with the Stars, and Walsh, 33, has had two children.

But the two decided that they would give it one more shot, and they certainly look motivated to end their Olympic careers in style.

The Americans will have tomorrow off before taking on the Czech team of Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova on Monday, July 30, at 6 p.m. ET.

All scores, schedules and live stream information can be found at NBCOlympics.com.

When you're gearing up to watch Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Lolo Jones and the rest of the ultra-hyped athletes in the ultra-hyped Olympic sports, don't forget about the sometimes-forgotten sport of volleyball. 

The action-packed game rarely has a dull moment and features some of the best pure athletes on the planet. They are tall, agile and powerful with crazy hand-eye coordination and leaping ability.

It doesn't receive near the publicity of swimming, track and field or basketball, but there are a few reasons why volleyball is arguably the most underrated event at the Olympics. 

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings

The two American beach volleyball partners are on the verge of breaking the record at this year's Olympiad. They'd be the first team to win three consecutive gold medals if they emerge victorious in London this year. 

They've epitomized dominance but will likely have a tougher road in London, with improved competition and age starting to factor in. 

If nothing else, tune into May-Treanor and Walsh-Jennings' matches. They embody team chemistry and have an unparalleled cerebral connection in the sand that has allowed them to become two of the most celebrated American Olympians of all time. 

Indoor's Level Playing Field

Some Olympic events are dominated by one player or team (see: men's and women's basketball). However, that's far from the case in indoor volleyball, especially on the men's side.

The American men won their third gold medal in 2008, defeating 2004 winner Brazil in the final. Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Poland, Japan and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) have won gold since the event's inception at the Olympics in 1964. 

The U.S. women have slowly ascended the international volleyball ranks, from a seventh-place finish at the 1996 Games in Atlanta to a silver medal in 2008 in Beijing. 

Cuba won three-straight golds from 1992 to 2000, but China won in Athens and Brazil captured gold in 2008. 

If you're looking to witness a high level of competition, where seemingly any country can make a run to gold, this is the sport for you. 

Athleticism

As alluded to in the introduction, volleyball calls for big, limber athletes with insane verticals to quickly react to a ball being spiked at them at ridiculous speeds over and over again. The team concept is apparent, and a great deal of strategy is employed in each game.

There aren't many breaks or stoppages in action, so it's difficult to get bored while watching a match.

If rare athleticism is what you're looking for, look no further than an Olympic volleyball court.

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Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh aren't unstoppable anymore. 

That feels weird to say. The talented American beach volleyball duo has taken home gold the past two Olympics. They have won gold at the 2003, 2005 and 2007 World Championships. 

But after they took a year off from playing with each other in 2010, last year's World Championships marked quite possibly the beginning of a new era.

May-Treanor and Walsh took home—wait for it—silver. I know, terrible. They are actually susceptible to that thing called losing.

So, while you may have gotten used to seeing the Americans take home gold in beach volleyball at the Olympics, London could very possibly bring some changes.

Let's take a look at the teams that pose as the toughest threats.

Larissa and Juliana, Brazil

The No. 1 ranked team in the world is the one that knocked off May-Treanor and Walsh at the 2011 World Championships for gold, so naturally, they are easily the biggest threat for gold. 

The talented duo doesn't have any Olympic experience together—Juliana sat out in Beijing because of an injury, leaving Larissa and a new partner to fall to May-Treanor and Walsh in the quarters—but they have absolutely dominated the tour in 2011. 

Despite the lack of experience, at least compared to the Americans, it would be a huge surprise if these two don't make the finals in London.

Zhang Xi and Xue Chen, China

While this duo hasn't been playing together as long as the favorited Americans, they were together at the 2008 Olympics, so they at least have that over the Brazilians.

In 2008, they fell to their countrywomen in the semifinals before winning in the bronze medal game. 

They also took home the bronze at the 2011 World Championships after losing to May-Treanor and Walsh.

This solid duo is consistent, it just doesn't seem like the ceiling is anything more than a bronze medal. Nonetheless, you know they will be around near the end of the tournament and have the potential to contend with anyone. Just don't expect any major upsets from them. 

Jen Kessy and April Ross, United States

Why not go with the duo that is supposed to take over as the next dominant Americans?

Kessy and Ross missed out on the Olympics in 2008, but that has just made them that much hungrier to prove they are the world's best.

It's not like they haven't proven they can't win the big tournament, either. In 2009, Kessy and Ross, former teammates at USC, knocked off Juliana and Larissa to take home the gold medal. 

The fourth-ranked team in the world isn't the favorite going into London, but if they play at the top of their game, there's no question the Americans can compete with the other Americans. 

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