Beyond Gold: Team USA beach volleyball talks about their path to gold

April Ross and Alix Klineman topped Australia for their first Olympic gold medals.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

APRIL ROSS: I've been playing beach volleyball for the majority of my career now, which seems crazy. I think this is my 14th season. I did start in indoor, also.

ALIX KLINEMAN: I played indoor volleyball for most of my life. I played five years professionally overseas, about seven years with the national team. And then a few years ago, I made the switch to the beach. And I've been partners with April for the last three years, I think.

APRIL ROSS: I think, as a team, we needed more time to develop. And as Alix is pretty new to the beach, relatively still, I think she was given a little bit of time to work on her game. And we spent a lot of the pandemic, actually, training once the beaches opened up and we were able to do so safely.

ALIX KLINEMAN: We had a lot to gain from this extra time. And obviously, I'm really new to the beach game. And to have an extra year and a lot more time to keep learning and bonding as a team. I also was able to get even a little bit healthier, too.

The decision was not as clear as it might seem now, looking back at it. I still loved indoor. I still felt really challenged by indoor. But I kind of looked at the beach as an opportunity to pursue my Olympic dream and kind of have a fresh start at that.

It was much more challenging than I could have ever even imagined. I knew it was going to be hard. But I think, you know, from an outsider's perspective, some of the things when you're watching beach volleyball look simple. And I think once I got going, I realized how many different parts of beach volleyball are just so much different from indoor.

APRIL ROSS: When I first got out, it was like everyone was either doing a line block or an angle block. You know, it was pretty straight up. And now everyone has many, many calls, different plays, different schemes to trap the hitter into doing what you want. And offense has also become much more diversified.

So I feel like the game has just become a lot more complex. And the knowledge of the game is spread out. And the fields have just become deeper and deeper, internationally.

ALIX KLINEMAN: It's been such a learning experience. And I'm trying to really stay confident, but also keep a really open mind, because I know I have so much to learn. And it was definitely a risk. But I am so happy that I made this choice. And I'm happy with how this journey has been so far.

It's hard to look past Tokyo. But I still think we look at the next few months, and feel like we have a lot of room for growth.

APRIL ROSS: I don't want to retire prematurely. Physically, I feel great. Still love competing. It seems more attainable to do three more years. So I think I will go forward with the intent of competing in Paris, now that it's only three years away.