Americans have so-so day in volleyball at Olympics

Americans have so-so day in volleyball at Olympics

The Chinese cheered, the Brazilians boogied, the Australians partied and bikini-clad dancing girls shimmied Saturday as the Olympic beach volleyball tournament got under way.

The only thing the sultry, sandy party didn’t have on the first day of round-robin play was a lot of fans.

The Chaoyang Park stadium was only about half full for many of the six men’s and six women’s matches of the day, despite the presence of dancing girls in skimpy bikinis and the lively music.

The rocking backdrop and even a visit from President Bush did little for Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser. The defending world champions had won 21 straight international matches before losing 21-19, 21-18 to the Latvian team of Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs that was seeded 23rd in the 24-team field. The U.S. pair must now win their next two pool-play matches to get into the medal round.

The competition was fierce all day, and those who did make it out were enthusiastic.

“Beach volleyball is my favorite sport,” shouted Rodrigo Barbosa, 27, of Rio de Janeiro, who was dancing, screaming and draping himself in a Brazilian flag with a large group of other South Americans he had just met at the venue. “I played for two years starting when I was 14 in Rio, but a lot of us play. Brazilians have three sports: futbol (soccer), volleyball and foot-volley, which is a combination of the two.”

“I’m sure the crowds will come as the competition continues,” he said.

Among the ladies, the Chinese duo of Wang Jie and Tian Jie wasn’t hurting for fans. The second-ranked team on the world tour put the hammer down on Simone Kuhn and Lea Schwer of Switzerland, winning 21-12, 21-18 in front of a cheering, chanting crowd that nearly filled the 12,000 seat stadium.

Americans Nicole Branagh, of Orinda, and Elaine Youngs also won, defeating the Dutch team of Merel Mooren and Rebekka Kadijk