In Thursday’s Paris Olympics action for Santa Barbara locals, Karch Kiraly and USA Women’s Volleyball punched their ticket to the gold medal match while Ryann Neushul and USA Women’s Water Polo fell short in the semifinals.
Kiraly, a Santa Barbara High alum, coached Team USA Women’s Volleyball to a thrilling three-set victory over Brazil.
Meanwhile, Neushul, a Dos Pueblos alum, and Team USA Women’s Water Polo had its bid for a fourth straight gold medal end at the hands of Australia in a shootout, 14-13.
USA Women’s Volleyball
In a back-and-forth affair against Brazil, Team USA held on for the five-set semifinal victory, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11.
“It’s kind of sad that either team has to lose a match like that,” Kiraly said. “Both programs are legendary in terms of consistently high level of play in good tournaments like the Olympics and world championships.”
It was competitive throughout, and the fifth set came down to the wire as Brazil got the set to 12-10 before Team USA pulled away for the victory.
Outside hitter Kathryn Plummer dominated for Team USA in the win, slamming down 23 kills. Meanwhile, Avery Skinner tallied 15 kills and Annie Drews had 17 of her own.
Team USA will now look to defend its gold medal against Italy on Sunday.
USA Women’s Water Polo
In the pool, Team USA and Australia battled to a dramatic finish that ended in Australia prevailing in a shootout after the score stood at 8-8 after regulation.
Team USA held an 8-6 lead in the fourth period, but they were unable to hold on late as Australia made a push and forced a shootout.
There, both sides made five straight goals before Australian goalkeeper Gabriella Palm secured a save and the win for her squad.
In shootouts, Neushul buried the fourth goal for Team USA to keep the game alive. The goal was her fourth of the Olympics.
Team USA will look to finish on the podium as they take on the Netherlands in the bronze medal match on Saturday.