SYDNEY, Australia — Americans Holly McPeak and Misty May started strongly in Olympic beach volleyball, scoring the first 13 points and never giving the Czech duo of Martina Hudcova and Tereza Tobiasova a chance in a 15-5 rout.
The fourth-seeded Americans displayed seamless teamwork, with McPeak making repeated defensive saves to set up May for decisive shots.
The match Saturday was 16 minutes old before the Czechs finally scored their first points off Tobiasova's powerful jump serves. A two- and then three-point run brought the Czechs to 14-5 before McPeak closed it out on a serve Tobiasova couldn't handle.
The first upset saw 15th-seeded Anabelle Prawerman and Cecile Rigaux of France hold on for a 16-14 victory over Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of Germany, the 10th seeds. Led by Rigaux's dominating net play, full of smashes and blocks, the French side jumped to an 8-4 lead in a match that went on for more than an hour.