Kloth/Nuss Roll to Victory in Olympic Debut
PARIS, France, July 27, 2024.– With the lights of the Eiffel Tower
sparkling and glowing in the background, the U.S. beach team of Taryn
Kloth and Kristen Nuss, ranked No. 2 in the world, won its Olympic
debut, 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) over Canada’s Heather Bansley and Sophie
Bukovec.
Kloth and Nuss will next face Mariafe Artacho Del Solar and Taliqua
Clancy of Australia on Monday, July 29 a las 10 p.m. local. Bansley and
Bukovec will face earlier (11:00 a.m. local) against Xue Chen and Xia
Xinyi of China.
“It was so magical,” Nuss said of playing at Eiffel Tower Stadium at
sunset. “To walk into the venue and hear all the fans and hear everybody
was spectacular. And then you got to see the spectacle of the light
show.”
Despite the theatrics, the pair stayed focused as Kloth and Nuss used a
balanced scoring attack with Nuss totaling 15 points on 14 kills and an
ace, and Kloth scoring 13 points on 10 kills and three blocks. Nuss
finished with 17 digs.
Kloth and Nuss admitted to some nerves before the match but said their
coach Drew Hamilton calmed them down.
“Our coach, at the beginning, really tried to calm us down,” Kloth said.
“He made us realize that this really is the exact game we play every day
in practice. We are doing the same thing, just in a very, very cool
venue.”
The U.S. duo scored the first four points in the match and later took a
7-2 lead on strong net play by Kloth that frustrated their opponents’
offense early in the match. Bansley/Bukovec mounted a rally later in the
set with three points in a row to cut the lead to one point, 13-12, but
a Nuss kill in the back corner thwarted the comeback. Nuss scored the
set-winning point, her fourth kill of the opening set. Kloth finished
the set with eight points on seven kills and a block.
Nuss reached double digits in kills with 10 in a second set that saw the
U.S. jump out to a six-point lead, 11-5, as Nuss scored on a ball down
the line. Her 11th kill of the match made it 14-11 and then the teams
traded service errors. With the score 15-12, the U.S. finished the match
on a 7-2 run. Nuss ended the match with a kill that went off the net and
landed in bounds.
Olympic Games Paris 2024 Beach Volleyball: schedule and results
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