Another 'Set' Completed!

One of the highlights of the 2012 Olympic Games was the gold-medal women’s beach volleyball match. Both teams vying for the gold were from the US of A, and thus our country was assured not only the gold medal, but also the silver.

Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh-Jennings are two staples on Team USA, but April Ross & Jen Kessy were newcomers to the Games, both of them making their first appearance.

I was able to watch the majority of both team’s matches, and the final game was almost an even draw in my mind. I gave a bit of an advantage to Treanor/Jennings (Or May/Walsh, if you have trouble, as I often do, remembering them by their married names) simply because of their experience and their ability to put the match to bed early. Kessy & Ross had gotten into some trouble in earlier rounds, and their strength seemed to be coming through with big plays when they were on the verge of defeat and/or elimination. Both teams had strengths and weaknesses, and I knew it was going to be an awesome face-off.

Misty & Kerri pulled out the victory, giving them their third straight gold medal. I was really impressed with Kessy & Ross, though: A silver medal in your first-ever Olympic Games is not bad at all, in my opinion, especially when you best a heavily-favored Brazilian team to get there!!

I found that I had very few Olympic autographs in my collection, so after the Games ended, I set out to change that. I found some private addresses; sent some emails; and used some of my Olympic set doubles for TTM requests. In the last week, I was finally able to complete my “set” of autographs from all four Team USA 2012 representatives in the sport of women’s beach volleyball.

I already documented my MMT autograph success, found here. Kerri Walsh signed two index cards for me several years ago, personalizing one.

 Back in September, this autograph appeared in my mailbox. I waited to show it off until I received magic #4, and that choice paid off. April Ross signed a custom card and sent me a very nice, handwritten note.

Finally, last week, the fourth and final autograph I needed for this project arrived. Jen Kessy also signed a custom card and included a personalized note.

These four women are excellent representatives of the USA, and I’m proud to have their autographs in my collection! Be sure to check them all out on Twitter; they are really great to their fans, and all of them regularly respond to fans’ tweets.