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Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh win again as Beijing Olympics near |
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Written by Rachel Cohen, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Sunday, 20 July 2008 |
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NEW YORK - Kerri Walsh started talking about playing head games with her beach volleyball opponents when teammate Misty May-Treanor interjected, "It's a secret."
Walsh seemed unconcerned about revealing the duo's attempts to become more creative on defence.
"We got a lot of easy points today," she noted to May-Treanor, "and I think it was because we changed it up a little bit."
It's hard to imagine the reigning Olympic champs needing to improve much the way they're rolling into the Beijing Games. The top-seeded pair beat No. 4 seed Jennifer Boss and April Ross 21-14, 21-15 on Sunday in the finals of the AVP Tour's stop at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
They've won 17 straight tournaments and 96 consecutive matches, both records in the sport.
"The Olympics are 20 days away," Walsh said, the anticipation obvious in her voice. "I feel it every second of the day. I'm really energized and really excited to be playing volleyball."
On Monday, they get to have lunch and dinner at the White House with other Olympic athletes, another milestone in the buildup to Beijing.
They're pleased with how they're playing despite some injury blips. May-Treanor has her ribs taped but said it's not bothering her on the sand. Walsh is coming off off-season shoulder surgery.
The two are experimenting with new strategies when they have the lead in matches, which is often.
"We're pretty good with staying really simple," Walsh said, "but now we're getting creative and working on that aspect and really trying to play head games with people."
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