USA take inspiration from Kerri Walsh Jennings’ bronze medal victory

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 20, 2016 – USA coach Karch Kiraly and his team took inspiration from Kerri Walsh Jennings’ bronze medal victory in beach volleyball, which inspired them to win a bronze medal against the Netherlands at Maracanazinho on Saturday.

Karch Kiraly, Coach of USA:

On the match:

“We don’t think of it in terms of pressure, pressure is what you say to yourself inside your head. We just wanted to walk off the court today proud of the effort we put in. Everybody made a contribution tonight. Foluke Akinradewo was an absolute warrior coming back on less than two days’ notice to be able to play this match so we didn’t feel a ton of pressure to have to win this medal but we sure were hungry.”

On winning a bronze medal:

“It feels phenomenal. Kerri described it to us as maybe the toughest match that has to be played in sports because everybody who plays for the bronze wanted to be playing for a gold medal and they have to figure out a way to get back to a place after some disappointment.

“I’ve gotten to win three gold medals as a player, a silver as a coach and a bronze as a coach and what certainly hurts the most, only because you finish the tournament with a loss, was the silver medal.”

On the team’s jump float serve:

“We do a lot of measurements and a lot of …

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