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Olympics beach volleyball results: August 17

By Nathaniel Reeves

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 17: Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany celebrate winning a point during the Beach Volleyball Women's Gold medal match against Agatha Bednarczuk Rippel of Brazil and Barbara Seixas de Freitas of Brazil on day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 17: Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany celebrate winning a point during the Beach Volleyball Women's Gold medal match against Agatha Bednarczuk Rippel of Brazil and Barbara Seixas de Freitas of Brazil on day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Copacabana Beach played host to the bronze and gold medal matches of the women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 2016 Rio Olympics women’s volleyball tournament concluded on Wednesday with the bronze and gold medal matches, where the hosts suffered a pair of upsets.

Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst took home the gold with a win over Brazil’s Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk in front of a rocking crowd at a windy Copacabana Beach. The Germans maintained a slim lead throughout the first set and eventually put the frame away 21-18.

Ludwig and Walkernhorst then raced out to a 6-1 lead in the second that they wouldn’t relinquish, winning 21-14 to secure Europe’s first ever gold medal in beach volleyball. The Germans impressively only dropped one set during the entire tournament and upset higher ranked Brazilian teams in both the semifinals and finals.

Less than 24 hours after suffering her first career Olympic loss, Team USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings and partner April Ross won the bronze medal match against top seed Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes of Brazil. For the second straight night, the Americans were down a set to a host team after Franca and Antunes dropped the first 21-17.

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Unlike in the semifinal match, the American duo was able to rally and erased an early second set deficit to win 21-17 and tie things up. Ross played easily her best defensive match of the tournament, as the Americans pulled away for the 15-9 third set victory to win the bronze.

Barring a comeback at 42 years old in Tokyo, Walsh Jennings finishes her Olympic career with three golds, the 2016 bronze, and a 27-1 record overall.

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