It didn’t take lengthy to see a transparent shift from Andy Benesh and Miles Partain.
After a sluggish begin to these Olympic Video games — a listless sweep by the hands of Cuba and a bizarrely shut match in opposition to Morocco — they opened Thursday afternoon’s match in opposition to George Wanderley and Andre Loyola as a new-look staff.
Or, extra precisely, a throwback to the model of themselves that took the Seashore Professional Tour by storm presently final summer time.
The on-two sport, the jump-sets, the very basis of their staff that has been quiet in 2024 was again — all the best way again. Partain took choices from 15 toes off the online. From the correct. From the left. From slide approaches. Fading away. Out of bounds. In bounds.
In all places.
A few of these appeared ill-advised to exterior viewers, and most notably to NBC lead commentator Chris Marlowe, who was downright aghast at a number of. However this was the model that, firstly of this Olympic run, Benesh and Partain agreed to stay by and die by.
This was what acquired them to Paris.
For a spell, they went away from it.
It didn’t work — not with the outcomes they wished, anyway. 5 ninths, three fifths and only a single bronze since their silver medal on the Montreal Elite16 final July.
They got here out in opposition to George and Andre in want of a spark, they usually went inside to search out it. They jump-set. They optioned. They jump-served. They had been aggressive.
It labored, to the tune of a 21-17, 14-21, 15-8 win that places them second in Pool D and could have them starting the playoffs within the spherical of 16.
“We discovered our mojo once more,” Benesh mentioned. “[The options] might be again. It’ll be again for eternity. We’re tremendous pleased with the model we performed with immediately and we’re going to proceed that.”
Halfway via the primary set, Dain Blanton, on-court for NBC, dropped a bombshell of a possible reason why the sudden shift: Benesh and Partain’s coach, Mike Placek, wasn’t on the pre-game chat Blanton has with groups previous to matches.
They had been transferring ahead, they instructed Blanton.
In the course of the Olympics?
In the course of the Olympics.
“We’re simply targeted on our subsequent matches,” Benesh mentioned when requested about it afterwards.
No matter it’s that occurred — or didn’t occur — within the Benesh and Partain camp, it finally produced a staff that returned to its roots as one which pushed the envelope of offensive potentialities in seaside volleyball.
For USA followers, it’s a welcome sight.
The return to the high-octane, high-risk, on-two model is strictly what catapulted Benesh and Partain into the top-five of the world rankings for a lot of final summer time. It’s the very basis of their staff. It’s their persona, their spunk.
Their superpower.
“I feel that’s the rationale why we’re the place we’re at,” Benesh mentioned previous to their first event this season. “These blockers are nasty. It’s fairly powerful after they’re sitting on you. Groups will serve you in system on objective so the blocker can line up. Having Miles push me via the place I’m pondering I ought to go away from it, that Miles is siding out nice. It’s humorous, we’ll be on the court docket and Miles will say ‘I would like you to hit it!’ and I’m like ‘No I would like you to hit it!’ It’s fairly humorous.”
So when Marlowe and Misty Might-Treanor had been borderline appalled on the areas from which Partain was hitting choices, the response ought to have been the alternative: They need to have been inspired, a lot the best way Golden State Warriors followers ought to be inspired when Steph Curry is pulling up from properly past the arc. One doesn’t put a leash on Curry, the best shooter within the historical past of basketball.
The identical could possibly be mentioned for Partain, one of many two most suitable choice gamers on this planet, alongside Sweden’s David Ahman.
It’s why he’s the youngest participant to qualify for an AVP, why he received AVP Rookie of the Yr as a teen. He’s an innovator, pushing the sides of what’s potential, a lot much less advisable by traditionalists. And now he and Benesh are again.
How again? The set they’re most happy with throughout these Olympic Video games is the second in opposition to George and Andre — the one they misplaced, 14-21.
“I used to be pleased with how we performed,” Partain mentioned, earlier than including, “particularly in that second set.”
You may virtually hear the wink and sly smile on the 22-year-old’s face when he mentioned it.
“I believed Miles was tremendous aggressive and handed tremendous properly and I used to be tremendous aggressive and that’s the model that we need to play with and we’re going to proceed doing that,” Benesh mentioned. “Whether or not we win or lose, we had been tremendous pleased with how we performed the second set. Regardless that the rating didn’t go properly for us, we performed that method the entire match and we’re actually proud.”
Thursday’s Olympic Seashore Volleyball outcomes
9 a.m. — Ehlers/Wickler (Germany) def. Hodges/Schubert (Australia) 16-21, 21-18, 19-17
10 a.m. — Cherif/Ahmed (Qatar) def. Nicolaidis/Carracher (Australia) 21-14, 21-18
11 a.m. — Liliana/Paula (Spain) def. Marwa/Elghobashy (Egypt) 21-18, 21-14
Midday — Diaz/Alayo (Cuba) def. Abicha/Elgraoui (Morocco) 21-14, 21-11
3 p.m. — Partain/Benesh (USA) def. George/Andre (Brazil) 21-17, 14-21, 15-8
4 p.m. — Mariafe/Clancy (Australia) vs. Bansley/Bukovec Canada)
5 p.m. — Ahman/Hellvig (Sweden) vs. Cottafava/Nicolai (Italy)
8 p.m. — Ana Patricia/Duda (Brazil) vs. Gottardi/Menegatti (Italy)
9 p.m. — Bryl/Losiak (Poland) vs. Bassereau/Lyneel (France)
10 p.m. — Kloth/Nuss (USA) vs. Xue/Xia (China)
Friday’s Olympics seaside volleyball schedule
All occasions are native. Paris is 6 hours forward of U.S. Jap and 9 hours forward of Pacific:
9 a.m. — Paulikiene/Raupelyte vs. Akiko/Ishii
10 a.m. — Ranghieri/Carambula vs. Grimalt/Grimalt
11 a.m. — Horl/Horst vs. Schachter/Dearing
Midday — Viera/Chamereau vs. Hermannova/Stochlova
3 p.m. — Herrera/Gavira vs. Evans/Budinger
4 p.m. — Krou/Gauthier-Rat vs. Boermans/de Groot
5 p.m. — Carol/Barbara vs. Stam/Schoon
8 p.m. — Mol/Sorum vs. Van de Velde/Immers
9 p.m. — Perusic/Schweiner vs. Evandro/Arthur
10 p.m. — Hughes-Cheng vs. Muller-Tillmann