The U.S. beach volleyball team of April Ross and Jennifer Kessy has qualified for their first Olympics, joining fellow Americans and two-time gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor in the tournament.
Ross and Kessy, who were the No. 3 American team for the Beijing Games in 2008, clinched the second of two American women's berths by finishing fifth in the Beijing Grand Slam over the weekend.
Two-person beach volleyball teams qualify for the Olympics by compiling points on the international pro tour. A country can have a maximum of two men's teams and two women's teams.
May-Treanor and Walsh had locked up the other American spot for women, and defending men's gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser will get one of the U.S. men's berths. The other men's spot will go to either the team of Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb, who lost in the quarterfinals at the Beijing Games, or Nick Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer. The teams are tied in the standings.
