BEIJING — With a round-of-16 beach volleyball victory Saturday night, the U.S. tandem of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal advanced to Monday night's quarterfinals, where they will meet Brazil's side of Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego, the defending Olympic champions.Gibb and Rosenthal needed just two sets — but an extra-long first set — to eliminate Spain's Pablo Herrera and Raul Mesa, 26-24, 21-17.Herrera was part of Spain's silver-medalist pair in 2004.Gibb credited Rosenthal for the win."That was the best I've ever seen from my partner," said the LDS Church member. "We were under pressure and he absolutely carried me.... He showed what he could do on the biggest stage of all, and he was amazing."Gibb punctuated the victory with an emotional celebration. "It was a moment I'll remember forever," he said. "Every game we win, we celebrate like that — it's how we feel after every match. It's like I'm on 'Fantasy Island.'"If Gibb and Rosenthal win their next match, they'll have reason to celebrate again, beating Ricardo-Emanuel (yes, they go by their first names). Not only did the Brazilian side win the gold medal in Athens four years ago, the two were world tour's top-ranked side from 2004 to 2007.Gibb and Rosenthal were 3-0 in pool play. They scored 26 points against Spain's 24 in the first set, and 21 points against Spain's 17 in the second set. Gibb scored 22 points with one ace. He had 19 attacks, four blocks and one dig.Gibb and Rosenthal teamed up in 2006 and are the No. 2 U.S. men's team. They won two AVP events in 2008 and one FIVB tournament. In their last match before the Beijing Games, the duo defeated the No. 1 U.S. team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser in the final of the AVP's Long Beach event.
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