April Ross and Alix Klineman worked in tandem to defeat Australia in the gold medal game of beach volleyball. It’s the United States’ first gold in the event since 2012.

The U.S. never faltered, playing a dominant match from the first serve to their final point. Klineman and Ross won in two straight sets.

The team was dominant not just in their final match, but in all elimination games. They did not cede a single set in these critical matchups. 

The gold medal is Ross’s third Olympic finish on the winner’s podium. She previously won silver and bronze medals. “For us to get here and do this, with this kind of competition just blows my mind. To get a gold medal finally, feels so amazing,” Ross said of their victory.

“I still don’t know if I really ever expected this to come true. It feels like such a fairytale,” Klineman noted.

April Ross is an American professional beach volleyball player. She has competed in three Summer Olympics (2012 with Jennifer Kessy, 2016 with Kerri Walsh Jennings, and 2021 with Alix Klineman), winning a silver medal in 2012 and bronze in 2016.

APRIL ROSS BIOGRAPHY: AGE, EARLY LIFE, FAMILY, EDUCATION

April Ross was born on June 20, 1982 (April Ross age: 39). She was born in Costa Mesa, California, and grew up in Newport Beach. She attended Newport Harbor High School, where she played varsity track and indoor volleyball – eventually becoming the nation’s top recruit in her graduating class for the latter sport. Ross also played on the club volleyball team Orange County Volleyball for five years.  As a senior, she won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award and was also named the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999. During this time, Ross also played on the U.S. Junior National Team.

Ross attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she played indoor volleyball. In her freshman year, she was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as the National Freshman of the Year. That year, USC volleyball made it to the NCAA Final Four. As a junior and a senior, she helped USC volleyball win back-to-back NCAA titles. In 2004, Ross was awarded the Honda Sports Award – an award given annually to the best female collegiate volleyball player.

APRIL ROSS BIOGRAPHY: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON SWITCHING TO BEACH VOLLEYBALL

While Ross played indoor volleyball throughout her high school and college career, beach volleyball was the place where she truly found her calling. Ross spoke exclusively with uInterview about making the switch from indoor volleyball to beach.

After college, Ross began playing professional indoor volleyball, However, she described starting to feel “very beat up.” “My knees broke down on me, my shoulder, I couldn’t swing at the ball anymore,” Ross told uSports in 2012.

For a period of time after that Ross actually gave up volleyball, and took a job hostessing. As she put it, “[figuring] out how to make a living outside of volleyball.” That didn’t last long, however. A former teammate from USC called her up and recommended she try out beach volleyball.

“I was terrible,” Ross recalled. “I don’t know why I liked it, because I usually only like things that I’m good at, but I think it was just being out on the beach, and the culture. It was a ton of fun, and I stuck with it and finally got better and better.” In Ross’s words, it was simply “a matter of fate.”

Beach volleyball was definitely a transition for Ross. “You have to think for yourself on the beach,” Ross explained. “You don’t have a coach on the sidelines yelling at you, telling you what to do, subbing you out if you’re not playing the way he wants you to. If you’re not playing good enough to win… you gotta figure out how to do something to beat the opponent.”

In addition to a mentality change, the rules of beach volleyball are different than indoor. In beach volleyball, players have to touch the ball every other time. According to Ross, this means you can’t be “hidden” in the same way as in indoor. “You have to be working on all your skills, all the time.”

Additionally, beach volleyball matches are two out of three, whereas indoor in three out five. For Ross, that means “you can make less mistakes” on the beach than in indoor.

Watch the full interview at the top of the page.

APRIL ROSS BIOGRAPHY: CAREER

In 2008, Ross and Kessy competed in Swatch FVIB World Tour – an international beach volleyball competition. They finished in third place at the ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger, second place at the Dubai Open and first place Phuket Thailand Open. Later that year, Ross and Kessy defeated world champion duo Misty May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings at an AVP tournament in Santa Barbara. In July of 2009, Ross and Kessy won the FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. In 2012, they were named the AVP Team of the Year.

In 2012, Ross and Kessy competed in the London Olympics as the No. 4 seed. They lost in the championship round to Treanor and Walsh Jennings, taking home the silver medal. Ross and Walsh Jennings partnered up in 2013, winning the final two FIVB Grand Slams of 2013. In 2016, the pair competed in the Long Beach, California Grand Slam, where they won the gold medal. In the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the pair competed as the No. 3 seed. After defeating the No. 1 seed from Brazil, they took home the bronze medal. For the second time, Ross’s team was named the AVP Team of the Year.

In 2017, Ross partnered up with Alix Klineman. In their first tournament, the 2018 FIVB Dela Beach Open, the pair won first place. Ross and Klineman won four events in the 2019 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. Later that year, the pair won their second FIVB tournament event at the Yangzhou Open and were named the AVP team of the year.

In 2019, the pair won the Huntington Beach and New York City Open AVP tour events, the FIVB Itapema Open, and won the silver medal at the 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

In July of 2020, Ross and Klineman won the AVP Monster Hydro Cup, the Wilson Cup and the AVP Champions Cup.

APRIL ROSS BIOGRAPHY: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON HEALTH, HABITS

In 2012, Ross explained to uInterview that to prepare for the London Olympics, Ross and Kessi “looked at everything we did, as far as how we practice, how and we train… and how we eat.” Diet was an important factor for the pair, and Ross described how they “changed [their] diet a lot. Cut out a lot of carbs, cut out a lot of sugars, started eating more natural, more organic, just as healthy and clean as possible.” She mentioned that despite this strict plan, she made sure to go to a big dinner once a week and treat herself to something “really yummy.”

When asked about her morning ritual, Ross explained that she and Kessi like to take some time in the morning to relax.

“We like to have at least 45 minutes where we can drink our coffee and kind of relax,” she said. “And we try not to rush, because if you’re rushing at breakfast you’re just going to end up rushing the rest of the day.”

Watch the full interview at the top of the page.

APRIL ROSS BIOGRAPHY: PERSONAL LIFE

Ross was married to beach volleyball player Brad Keenan from 2010 to 2018.

Kerri Walsh Jennings couldn’t help but feel devastated, angry and ultimately blame herself for not attaining her goal of claiming a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross Win Bronze After Beating Brazil

Following her first beach volleyball loss at the Summer Games, and trailing by one set in the bronze-medal match and behind in the second, Walsh Jennings left all that behind and concentrated on winning her final match at Copacabana Beach. Now, she is the most decorated beach volleyball player in Olympic history.

“It’s crazy what 24 hours can do,” Walsh Jennings said after she and April Ross defeated Brazil’s Talita and Larissa 17-21, 21-17, 15-9 on Wednesday night to win bronze. “This is a highlight of my athletic career, without a doubt.”

The top-seeded Brazilian women took the lead in the first set, during which the Americans struggled to close the gap.

Larissa and Talita again gained the lead in the second, but their opponents rallied back following the first technical timeout. Walsh Jennings and Ross continued gaining momentum, winning the second set 21-17 to force a decisive third.

The U.S. women then put the first point of the third on the board and maintained a one-point lead over the Brazilians through most of the set. Walsh Jennings crushed the Brazilians at the net, while Ross’ impressive digs appeared limitless.

After struggling with passing throughout the previous matches, Walsh Jennings delivered a pair of blocks for the last two points to secure the bronze medal.

The victory gave Walsh Jennings her fourth Olympic medal. At the age of 38, she is also now the oldest female medal winner in beach volleyball history and the fifth beach volleyball player to win medals with two different partners.

After hugging her opponents, Walsh Jennings high-fived some court-side volunteers and then found a U.S. cheering section in the corner of the 12,000-seat arena.

Wrapping themselves in an American flag, she and Ross embraced each other for a long time.

“Devastating is a pretty huge word, but it pretty much captures how I felt last night,” Walsh Jennings said. “We came here to be our best, and I was subpar.”

Walsh Jennings also broke a tie with former partner Misty May-Treanor for the most medals in Olympic beach volleyball history.

Talita also took the time to praise Walsh Jennings after the match.

“I think she’s the best player that we have for beach volleyball for all [time],” the Brazilian said. “If you ask everybody, everybody will say ‘Kerri.'”

With the victory, Team USA avoided a medal shutout in a sport the country invented and– along with Brazil– has dominated since beach volleyball was added to the Olympics in 1996.

The U.S. has won six of a possible 12 gold medals in the sport and 10 overall. Brazil has clinched 13 medals, though only two gold.

Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst swept Brazil’s Agatha and Barbara 21-18, 21-14 in the women’s gold medal match. The victory marked Germany’s first medal in women’s beach volleyball.

Walsh Jennings and Ross said neither of them slept after they lost to Brazil’s other team in the semifinal. It was Walsh Jennings’ first loss in 27 Olympic beach volleyball matches.

It wasn’t until she and Ross arrived at the venue Wednesday and received a pep talk from coach Marcio Sicoli that they were able to concentrate again on the event.

“He said, ‘This is all about you guys,'” she said, adding that he talked about their children and their families and all the people who have supported them. “He hit the heart. He made it about being your best.”

Ross, who earned silver in London, said the bronze-medal game is “the hardest match to play in sports.”

“One team is going home empty-handed, and the other is going home with an Olympic medal,” she said.

The men’s tournament will conclude on Thursday as Alison and Bruno Schmidt of Brazil face off against Italy’s Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai for gold.

Robert Meeuwsen and Alexander Brouwer will take on Russia’s Viascheslav Krasilnikov and Konstantin Semenov in the men’s bronze medal match.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 17: Bronze medalists Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross of the United States pose on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Beach Volleyball on day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross lost to Brazilian pair Agatha and Barbara, the reigning world champions, in straight sets Wednesday morning in Rio di Janeiro in the women’s beach volleyball semifinals.

Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross Fall To Brazil In Olympic Semifinal

The defeat marked Walsh Jennings’ first Olympic loss, and she left Copacabana Beach a wreck after being denied her quest for an unprecedented fourth gold medal.

“Terrible feeling,” Walsh Jennings said.

“Good answer,” said Ross.

After three Olympic Games with partner Misty May-Treanor, Walsh Jennings, 38, was 21-0, and she and Ross had won five matches in Rio prior to the semifinal before a full house at the 12,000-seat Beach Volleyball Arena, packed with an unsurprisingly Brazilian-predominant crowd.

“They outplayed us pretty much in every way,” Walsh Jennings said. “Not out-hustled us, not out-hearted us, not out-team-worked us, but they outplayed us.

“We could squash that team and we have in the past. I say that with so much respect for them. They’re very very good. Tonight they rose to the occasion. I certainly did not. There’s no excuse for it. It’s just terrible execution.”

The American pair entered the Rio Games seeded No. 3 while Agatha and Barbara were No. 2.

Walsh Jennings and Ross will now play for the bronze medal against the other home crowd favorites, Brazilians Larissa and Talita. 

Agatha and Barbara will face top-seeded Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany in the final for the gold that Walsh Jennings has owned for 12 years.

“We had so many opportunities to take the match into our hands and do what we came to do, and we didn’t do that,” Ross said. “And that is the hardest thing to swallow. They played really well and they played really well on (defense), got some great digs, kept some rallies going, but we had so many opportunities and I know it’s going to kill me to watch that.

“They were just sharper on their execution.”

Though Ludwig called the raucous crowd “kind of a third player on the court” for the Brazilians and added they were not always fair, the American duo said they didn’t hear any booing, but only cheers.

“It just felt like a highly energized crowd cheering for their team,” Ross said.

The Brazilians made less unforced errors and won the longer points. They took the first set 22-20 and the second 21-18.

Although the Americans kept it close, and even led 18-16 in the first set, they then began easily giving away points.

Walsh Jennings confessed she played “rocky.”

“You’ve got to pass the ball to win matches,” she said, noting that the Brazilians scored aces on her. “That’s unacceptable and inexcusable It’s really, really disappointing and heartbreaking to not do that tonight.

“That was what kind of what set the tone and we never got our mojo on anything else.”

The last time she and Ross played for an Olympic medal, they were on opposite sides of the net.

Walsh Jennings won the gold medal at the London 2012 Games with partner May-Treanor while Ross and partner Jennifer Kessy took the silver.

After shaking hands at the net four years ago, Walsh Jennings– who knew May-Treanor was retiring– said to Ross, “Let’s win gold in Rio.”

Unfortunately, they will now have to settle for bronze as their goal for these Games.

“It’s our final now,” said Ross, noting that she expected Larissa and Talita, who have a 4-1 career edge over Walsh Jennings and Ross, to be just as ticked off about not playing for the gold.

“They’ll fight tooth and nail, so we’re going to have to show up and play better than we did tonight,” Ross said.

Walsh Jennings placed fourth in 2000 as a member of the U.S. Olympic indoor volleyball team.

Asked if she’ll play in another Olympics, she said, “I know I can. I don’t know if I will. I want to fix my match and I want to go home with a bronze medal and then we’ll see.”

Team USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross defeated Australia’s Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy in straight sets, 21-14, 21-16, on Sunday night at the Volleyball Arena at Copacabana Beach in Rio di Janeiro.

Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross Eliminate Australia To Advance To Volleyball Semifinals

The American pair will now advance to the semifinals of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament, after a victory that came one day before Jennings’ 38th birthday.

Walsh Jennings and Ross are now 5-0, losing only one set in their quest for gold in Rio. They will next face the reigning world champions, Brazilians Agatha and Barbara in the semifinals. The American duo entered the Rio Games ranked No. 3 in the world by FIVB. Agatha and Barbara entered as the No. 2 ranked team.

On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Brazilian pair Larissa and Talita will be facing Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst. Larrisa/Talita narrowly topped 17th-seeded Heidrich/Zumkehr of Switzerland 21-23, 27-25, 15-13 to progress to the semifinals.

The match began strongly for the Americans, who capitalized on several unforced errors to gain an early lead. The most incredible point of the first set came when the score was 10-9 in favor of the Americans. An Australian spike was blocked by Ross, but it flew well out of bounds onto the other side of the court. Walsh Jennings ducked under the net, picked the ball out, and hit it back to Ross, who managed to safely bump it over. Walsh Jennings then blocked a spike to secure the point.

“It was a great dig (from April), and you know, there was plenty of time,” said Walsh Jennings. “It wasn’t even that hard, it was just a unique play.”

Ross described the point more succinctly: “That was rad.”

Shortly afterwards, Team USA basketball players Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, DeAndre Jordan and Jimmy Butler appeared on the big screen and began a “U-S-A!” chant for the fans in attendance.

Ross and Walsh Jennings were both excited by the NBA stars’ presence.

“I actually didn’t notice them until I heard them cheering in the middle of rallies,” said Ross. “I was like ‘Oh, hey, look who’s over here.’ And they really fired me up when I heard them cheering for us.

“That’s one of the biggest things I love about the Olympics. We’re all Team USA and we all support each other.”

After winning the first set 21-14, the Americans came out strong again in the second, exchanging points with the Australians, who seemed to settle down and find their footing. Then in the middle of the set, a few Walsh Jennings blocks– and some unforced Australian errors– gave Walsh Jennings and Ross a 17-12 lead. Clancy and Bawden fought hard, but it seemed nearly impossible for them to win. The US pair closed it out, the most exciting point a wild back-and-forth rally that required several diving digs from both Ross and Walsh Jennings. They finally won the set 21-16, and following the match, the emcees led the entire stadium in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Walsh Jennings.

“I don’t think so,” said Walsh Jennings when asked if she’d ever been serenaded by an entire stadium. “I’ve had other birthdays during the Olympics, but I don’t think I have.”

Agatha and Barbara booked their way to the semis in straight sets over Russia’s Ekaterina Birlova and Evgenia Ukolova. Though they trailed early in the first set, they were buoyed by the jubilant — and extremely loud — crowd, and rallied back to take the set 23-21.

In the second set, the Brazilians took over, confounding the Russian pair with crafty shots at the net and excellent defense. They jumped out to a lead and then put the match away, winning 21-16.

“They had to fight,” said Walsh Jennings. “They fought off a lot of set points in Game 1, and they had the crowd fully behind them, but what I noticed is that when they’re down, the crowd goes away.”

Her and Ross have faced multiple questions about the two top-ranked Brazilian pairs in women’s volleyball since the beginning of the tournament, and have deftly responded to all of those questions the same way every time: repeating that they are simply taking it one match at a time.

The men’s quarterfinal round will take place on Aug. 15 followed by the women’s semifinals on Aug. 16.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 14: Kerri Walsh Jennings (R) of United States celebrates with teammate April Ross after defeating Australia in a Women’s Quarterfinal match on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross defeated Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre 21-13, 22-24, 15-12 on Wednesday night to win their pool and advance to the Round of 16 in Rio.

USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross Advance To Round of 16 In Women’s Beach Volleyball In Rio

The U.S. women dominated in the first set, but the Swiss duo rallied back in the second. The teams tied at 4-4. Switzerland gained a 5-4 lead following a successful block against Ross. The U.S. duo then regained the lead after a successful block by Ross. Forrer/Verge-Depre took a single-point lead going 11-10 into the first technical timeout of the second set. However, the Swiss women ultimately came away with the second set, winning 24-22, thus forcing a decisive third set.

The second set marked Walsh Jennings’ second lost set of her Olympic career.

Forrer and Verge Depre led into the third set, but the Americans countered to tie at 4-4. A long serve from Ross gave the Swiss a one-point lead and a cut-shot that Ross was unable to save brought the score to 6-4 in Switzerland’s favor. A successful block from Walsh Jennings knotted the score again at 6-6. The U.S. took the lead at 8-7. Following a hard line shot from the Swiss, and then an ace,Forrer/Verge-Depre took the lead at 9-8. After a medical timeout, the U.S. duo rebounded, tying the game at 10-10 before pulling ahead for good to win the match.

Walsh Jennings, 37, is going for her fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. She won three gold medals with Misty May-Treanor, sweeping Athens and Beijing before losing a single set in London. Ross, 34, won silver at the London 12 Games.

The U.S. women will automatically advance to the Round of 16, while the Swiss women will have to wait for the end of pool play to find out if they qualify for a final-chance lucky loser match.

Walsh Jennings/Ross went 3-0 in group play, beating out Australia, China and Switzerland. The elimination round will begin Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. ET. The US women’s next opponent is yet to be determined.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 10: Kerri Walsh Jennings digs the ball as April Ross of the United States looks on as Isabelle Forrer blocks at the net playing with Anouk Verge-Depre of Switzerland during the Beach Volleyball – Women’s Preliminary – Pool C, Match 33 on Day 5 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on August 10, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

US Olympic Volleyball Player April Ross by uSports

April Ross, 34-year-old Team USA beach volleyball player, is in Rio preparing to play for gold in the next two weeks. London 2012 Olympics Ross and her teammate at the time Jennifer Kessy, in a USA-USA final against Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. This year Ross and Jennings are teammates as each of their teammates decided to retire and they are going for gold. Ross discussed how she got her start in outdoor and her pre-match routines with uSports.