Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes dominate first match of Paris Olympics

Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes dominate Olympic opener

Of course it ended the way it did.

Eight times did the ball go over the net in the final rally of Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes’ opening match of Olympic pool play against the Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova. It was a rally that included two high lines, one failed attempt at a fake set attack (Cheng), one failed over-on-one (Hermannova), a heroic dig from Hermannova that had Olympic Broadcasting Services announcer Clayton Lucas exclaim “Oh yes! Magnificent!” and, to cap it off, an over-on-one tomahawk kill into the deep angle from Cheng to clinch both the match and the most electrifying point of these young Olympic Games.

“Goodness me!” Lucas said. “What a way to end the match! And the USA have done it in style!”

Indeed they have. Cheng and Hughes’ 21-16, 21-11 win was the second-most lopsided of the day’s slate of 10 matches. Was it a flawless performance? No, not entirely. Just as Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth’s opening win over Sophie Bukovec and Heather Bansley was, as Nuss explained, not the best volleyball, Cheng and Hughes were nervy in the opening set.

Then again: How could they not be?

Eiffel Tower Stadium is being regarded by nearly every player in the field as the most iconic venue they’ve played. The word electric is quickly becoming ubiquitous. Add onto that the fact that this is Hughes’ debut match of her debut Olympic Games, an accomplishment she has had designs on since she was an 8-year-old watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings practice at the Huntington Beach Pier, and it would be strange if no nerves were involved.

But those nerves quickly gave way to the World Championship-winning form that locked Cheng and Hughes into these Olympic Games last October. A 9-8 lead in the second set became a 12-3 run quicker than a hiccup. Cheng was blocking, Hughes digging, Cheng optioning, Hughes carving, and the Czech Republic was left without answers, though the scores bely just how scrappy they played on Sunday evening in Paris.

The win, and the lopsided manner in which it was taken, bode well for Cheng and Hughes. Alongside Germany’s Svenja Muller and Cinja Tillmann, who swept France’s Aline Chamereau and Clemence Vieira (21-14, 21-12), they are now 1-0 in Pool C with an excellent differential should they need it to escape the lucky loser rounds come playoff time. Cheng and Hughes will meet France…