Women's Beach Volleyball
Marred in a controversial replay challenge, UCLA's Sarah Sponcil and her partner Kelly Claes were eliminated in the round of 16, falling to Canada's Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, 22-24, 21-18, 15-13 on Sunday.
After losing a tightly-contested first set, the Canadians rallied from a 10-4 deficit in the second to force a third and decisive third set.
In the final set with Canada leading 12-11, Sponcil served a ball near the tape that was called out by the linesman, so the Americans challenged the call. Using a system that was first introduced in Rio in 2016, the video board showed a slow motion replay that appeared to show the ball landed out, but the board said the challenge was successful. So the Canadians challenged the reversal of the reversal and ultimately won the challenge to take a 13-11 lead.
Canada went on to win the third set 15-13, eliminating the youngest American team ever to qualify for Olympic beach volleyball competition.
Sponcil ended the match with 14 digs and three kills.
Women's Basketball
Angela Dugalic did not play for Serbia in the team's 65-61 victory over South Korea early Sunday morning in Tokyo. Serbia finished 2-1 in Group A and have advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Serbians head into the knockout stage looking to better their 2016 Olympic debut in Rio that saw them earn a bronze medal.
Nirra Fields and Canada finished 1-2 for third place in Group A and will await their fate on potential quarterfinal qualification. Two spots in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament are available among Canada and the eventual third-place finisher in Groups B and C.
Atonye Nyingifa and Nigeria will conclude their group action on Sunday evening as they take on Japan at 6:00 p.m. PDT. Nigeria hopes to earn its first victory of the tournament and potentially earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
Women's Diving
Maria Polyakova placed 10th in the women's 3-meter springboard diving finals on Sunday, besting her finishes in the prelims (13th) and semifinals (11th).
She ended the competition with a score of 284.05. Polyakova scored over 60 points on three of the five dives in her list, including a 63.00 on her third (reverse 2 ½ somersaults) that ranked fifth among all divers in that round. She cemented the top-10 finish with a 63.55 – her best score of the finals – on her final dive (forward 3 ½ somersaults).
The 2019 CSCAA National Diver of the Year at UCLA, Polyakova was the third-highest finisher among all European divers in the 3M finals.
Women's Water Polo
UCLA's Bronte Halligan was one of five Aussie Stingers to score two goals as Australia finished pool play with a 14-1 win over South Africa. Australia finished second in Group A (3-1).
Halligan who scored one goal from the front court and another on a counter attack, added two steals against South Africa.
Australia will face the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in quarterfinal action on Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 7:50 p.m. local time, 3:50 a.m. PDT on Aug. 3.
Baseball
Zack Weiss made history on Sunday, ending up as the winning pitcher as Israel recorded its first-ever Olympic victory in baseball with a 12-5 decision over Mexico in an elimination game.
Weiss tossed two innings in relief, striking out three and allowing one run on two hits. He struck out the first batter he faced as part of a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, and racked up a pair of Ks in the sixth to leave the bases loaded.
With the win, Israel (1-2) advances to a second knockout game, to be played at 8:00 p.m. PDT on Sunday against Korea. The winner of that contest advances to the semifinal round.
Women's Track and Field
Shae Anderson was an alternate for Team USA in the mixed 4x400m relay competition and did not compete for the Americans in the event. The United States earned a bronze medal in the inaugural running of the event on Saturday at the Olympics, crossing with a time of 3:10.22 behind Poland (3:09.87) and the Dominican Republic (3:10.21).
Men's Volleyball
The U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, coached by UCLA's John Speraw and featuring Bruins Garrett Muagututia (UCLA 2007-10) and Mitch Stahl (UCLA 2014-17), dropped its final pool play match in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to eighth-ranked Argentina in three straight sets. Scores of the match were 21-25, 23-25, 23-25.
With the defeat, the U.S. record fell to 2-3 in Pool B. That record was good for fifth-place, but only the top four teams in each pool will advance on to the quarterfinal round.
Stahl registered three kills, two blocks and an ace in the contest. Muagututia did not record stats. The top three spots in Pool B went to teams ranked first (Brazil), third (Russian Olympic Committee) and fourth (France) in the FIVB World rankings. Argentina secured the final spot with their victory over the U.S. The four teams advancing from Pool A include Poland, Italy, Japan and Canada. The U.S. had medaled in two of the last three Olympic competitions.
Bruin Olympians in the News
Must-win for USA Men's Volleyball; 1-on-1 with Coach John Speraw – Pac-12 (John Speraw)
Americans ousted by Canada in Olympic beach volleyball – Associated Press (Sarah Sponcil)
Social Media Highlights
Eric Filia describing how it feels to play for Team USA
Sam Mewis during the quarterfinal penalty kick shootout was a mood
Marred in a controversial replay challenge, UCLA's Sarah Sponcil and her partner Kelly Claes were eliminated in the round of 16, falling to Canada's Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, 22-24, 21-18, 15-13 on Sunday.
After losing a tightly-contested first set, the Canadians rallied from a 10-4 deficit in the second to force a third and decisive third set.
In the final set with Canada leading 12-11, Sponcil served a ball near the tape that was called out by the linesman, so the Americans challenged the call. Using a system that was first introduced in Rio in 2016, the video board showed a slow motion replay that appeared to show the ball landed out, but the board said the challenge was successful. So the Canadians challenged the reversal of the reversal and ultimately won the challenge to take a 13-11 lead.
Canada went on to win the third set 15-13, eliminating the youngest American team ever to qualify for Olympic beach volleyball competition.
Sponcil ended the match with 14 digs and three kills.
Women's Basketball
Angela Dugalic did not play for Serbia in the team's 65-61 victory over South Korea early Sunday morning in Tokyo. Serbia finished 2-1 in Group A and have advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Serbians head into the knockout stage looking to better their 2016 Olympic debut in Rio that saw them earn a bronze medal.
Nirra Fields and Canada finished 1-2 for third place in Group A and will await their fate on potential quarterfinal qualification. Two spots in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament are available among Canada and the eventual third-place finisher in Groups B and C.
Atonye Nyingifa and Nigeria will conclude their group action on Sunday evening as they take on Japan at 6:00 p.m. PDT. Nigeria hopes to earn its first victory of the tournament and potentially earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
Women's Diving
Maria Polyakova placed 10th in the women's 3-meter springboard diving finals on Sunday, besting her finishes in the prelims (13th) and semifinals (11th).
She ended the competition with a score of 284.05. Polyakova scored over 60 points on three of the five dives in her list, including a 63.00 on her third (reverse 2 ½ somersaults) that ranked fifth among all divers in that round. She cemented the top-10 finish with a 63.55 – her best score of the finals – on her final dive (forward 3 ½ somersaults).
The 2019 CSCAA National Diver of the Year at UCLA, Polyakova was the third-highest finisher among all European divers in the 3M finals.
Women's Water Polo
UCLA's Bronte Halligan was one of five Aussie Stingers to score two goals as Australia finished pool play with a 14-1 win over South Africa. Australia finished second in Group A (3-1).
Halligan who scored one goal from the front court and another on a counter attack, added two steals against South Africa.
Australia will face the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in quarterfinal action on Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 7:50 p.m. local time, 3:50 a.m. PDT on Aug. 3.
Baseball
Zack Weiss made history on Sunday, ending up as the winning pitcher as Israel recorded its first-ever Olympic victory in baseball with a 12-5 decision over Mexico in an elimination game.
Weiss tossed two innings in relief, striking out three and allowing one run on two hits. He struck out the first batter he faced as part of a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, and racked up a pair of Ks in the sixth to leave the bases loaded.
With the win, Israel (1-2) advances to a second knockout game, to be played at 8:00 p.m. PDT on Sunday against Korea. The winner of that contest advances to the semifinal round.
Women's Track and Field
Shae Anderson was an alternate for Team USA in the mixed 4x400m relay competition and did not compete for the Americans in the event. The United States earned a bronze medal in the inaugural running of the event on Saturday at the Olympics, crossing with a time of 3:10.22 behind Poland (3:09.87) and the Dominican Republic (3:10.21).
Men's Volleyball
The U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, coached by UCLA's John Speraw and featuring Bruins Garrett Muagututia (UCLA 2007-10) and Mitch Stahl (UCLA 2014-17), dropped its final pool play match in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to eighth-ranked Argentina in three straight sets. Scores of the match were 21-25, 23-25, 23-25.
With the defeat, the U.S. record fell to 2-3 in Pool B. That record was good for fifth-place, but only the top four teams in each pool will advance on to the quarterfinal round.
Stahl registered three kills, two blocks and an ace in the contest. Muagututia did not record stats. The top three spots in Pool B went to teams ranked first (Brazil), third (Russian Olympic Committee) and fourth (France) in the FIVB World rankings. Argentina secured the final spot with their victory over the U.S. The four teams advancing from Pool A include Poland, Italy, Japan and Canada. The U.S. had medaled in two of the last three Olympic competitions.
Bruin Olympians in the News
Must-win for USA Men's Volleyball; 1-on-1 with Coach John Speraw – Pac-12 (John Speraw)
Americans ousted by Canada in Olympic beach volleyball – Associated Press (Sarah Sponcil)
Social Media Highlights
Eric Filia describing how it feels to play for Team USA
Tonight on the @NBCOlympics @KING5Olympics Olympic Zone we will profile @EricFilia from @USABaseball @RainiersLand and @Mariners !!! 4:30pm tonight on @KING5Sports @KING5Seattle #Baseball #USA pic.twitter.com/E6ByOdZaAv
— Chris Egan King-5 TV (@ChrisEgan5) July 31, 2021
Sam Mewis during the quarterfinal penalty kick shootout was a mood
Can't help but be hyped when @AlyssaNaeher does @AlyssaNaeher things ??
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 31, 2021
??: @isiphotos pic.twitter.com/uv1juKpl4c