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Rio de Janeiro • The Spaniards dropped to their knees in elation, kissing the damp sands of Copacabana beach. And Jake Gibb had the least-desirable view imaginable. The three-time Olympian from Bountiful could only lean his 6-foot-8 frame against the net, incredulously.
The Rio experience for Gibb and teammate Casey Patterson, a former BYU volleyball star, ended with a bad taste Wednesday after a controversial 2-1 loss (18-21, 21-16, 7-15) to Spain's Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira. The Utah beach volleyball duo dropped its second-straight Pool F match after starting these Olympics in dominant fashion in a sweep of Qatar. The Americans may play again, but it will only be for final placing. The quest for an Olympic medal is over.
What a difference four days make.
Following the loss, Gibb and Patterson had to tune into the final match of their pool between Austria and Qatar inside the beach volleyball arena to see whether or not they'd be thrown a lifeline. They weren't. Gibb and Patterson, the No. 6-seeded team in Rio, were eliminated from the Games after Qatar's 2-1 come-from-behind win over Austria. In three matches, the Utah beach volleyball duo won three total sets and finished, stunningly, last in its pool.
"This is what we've done for four years together — we fight," Gibb said. "We gave everything we have."
That fight ventured into unwanted territory in an elimination match when it didn't need to. Trailing Spain 5-2 in the third and final set, Gibb and Patterson had a point taken off the scoreboard after Herrera and Gavira challenged what they called an illegal touch by Gibb at the net. The longer the review dragged on, the more uneasiness hovered over the Americans.
It was eventually ruled that Gibb had touched the ball four times illegally, a rule up that is only up to referee's discretion. It is officially not a challengeable play. Replays indicated that Gibb and Herrera each touched the ball at the net, which in volleyball jargon is referred to as a "joust."
"We should have four contacts after that," Gibb said. "Any time you hit the ball with somebody at the same time, it's a joust. I thought it was a bad call, but we didn't lose that match because of that call. That's one call."
The referee held his communication device to his ear while some inside the arena and watching worldwide wondered how the review went in Spain's favor. Patterson was at first flabbergasted, then irate. Gibb, determined to argue as long as he could, held onto the ball thinking the next serve would be his. It wasn't. Spain was awarded the point, and went on to win the set 15-7.
"Bad calls happen all the time," Gibb said. "It just happens. It happens in this sport; it doesn't determine the game."
Added Patterson in a statement: "It was frustrating that the referee thought it was a joust but when Spain challenged, it had to go to the camera and it was out of the referees hands. It wasn't that call that decided the game, but it did disrupt our momentum and gave them that much more of a lead when every point counts."
The call put the Americans further down in a swing set, but a poor run of play in the first set played a larger role. Up 18-16, Gibb and Patterson surrendered a 6-1 run to the Spaniards, losing 21-18.
Asked afterward what fueled the comeback, Gavira said "Spanish fury." He credited Herrera with several key blocks on both Gibb and Patterson. The U.S. tandem rebounded in the second set 21-16, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back ace serves by Gibb. But early in the decisive third set, they fell behind. Rather than pulling within two points and trailing 5-3, the gap was widened to four over the contentious challenge that went Spain's way.
"It's not fun to have it out of your hands," Gibb said.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Storylines
• Spain's Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira def. USA's Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson 2-1 (21-18, 16-21, 15-7)
• The loss eliminates the University of Utah graduate Gibb and former BYU volleyball star Patterson from medal contention.