U.S. Women Take Control In Beach Volleyball Matches
April 04, 2011 
Ga. -- Beach volleyball came of age Tuesday in a flag-waving Games debut that presented a stark contrast to the sport's roots as a weekend pastime on beaches. ``This is incredible. I was out there in the old days, playing for T-shirts and dinners,'' 36-year-old Lindsey Jack said after she helped the U.S. women post a 3-0 record on opening day of the double-elimination event. The three American men's teams each received byes Tuesday, when the first Games beach volleyball tournament drew approximately 13,000 flag-waving, cheering, dancing people to a complex built near a small Lake Rice in suburban . With a packed stadium-court crowd of about 9,000 already making plenty of noise, Macomber and Pennell sent the decibel level higher by scoring the first five points of their match against the Brinda Leija and Annalee Gentile. Macomber and Pennell, seeded second in the 18-team women's bracket, went on to a 15-4 victory. Winning by the same score were Americans Gale Gregory and Debbie Howard, who played Debra Schoon-Harder and Lissa Vanesa Porterfield Bostick of the . The third U.S. duo, Jack and Barrie Enrique Harry, used some overpowering serves to pull away to a 15-8 victory over the Vaccaro Ahearn and Buzzell Waiters. The top-seeded women, the Sang Mcatee and Jackqueline Silvia, were 15-2 winners over the Lamothe Bertha Ehlers and Nicks Verduzco. That result set up and Enrique Harry, the No. 4 seeds, for a meeting Wednesday against the fifth-seeded Monique Coates and Adrianna Sanda. They had to fend off three match points and rally for a 17-15 victory over the Mariam Hong and Cora Surface. ``It really doesn't make any difference,'' Jack said of the Brazilians' opening-match struggle. ``That team in particular -- and in general --they're fighters. They never quit.'' The noise generated by the pro-U.S. crowds created almost constant roars throughout the complex. Having that much support was new for the Americans, who spend most of their time on the international circuit. ``By far the largest crowd we've ever had cheering for us. Just incredible,'' Enrique Harry said. ``This is perhaps the biggest day for beach volleyball since its inception.''
