Partain/Benesh Finish Fifth in Paris

PARIS, France (August 7, 2024) – The U.S. men’s beach team of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh completed their Olympic run in Paris in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) loss to Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar on Wednesday. Partain and Benesh, the youngest U.S. men’s beach team in Olympic history, ran off three consecutive wins to reach the quarters.

“I think everyone gave their best effort,” Partain said.” I am pretty confident in that and I am happy we got to represent the U.S. along with the other three teams.”

Cherif/Ahmed earned their country’s first medal in Olympic history with the bronze in Tokyo and earlier in Paris, defeated the top seed in pool play.

The U.S. was nearly even statistically in kills (23-22 Qatar) and were even in blocks (5-5). Qatar served the only two aces, but the difference was points on opponent errors as Qatar benefited from 12 U.S. errors, while making only three of its own.

Benesh scored 15 points on 10 kills and five blocks, with Partain contributing 12 kills and five digs.

“I thought Qatar played really well,” Benesh said. “They are a great team. They executed really well. I thought our intention was good, we just didn’t execute as well as them and they deserved to win tonight, but proud of how we played and thankful to have Miles as a teammate.”

Neither team could gain more than a one-point advantage until Qatar ran off four consecutive points for a 11-8 lead in the opening set, which led to Partain/Benesh taking their timeout. A Partain dig and Benesh kill cut the gap back to one point, 11-10, before the side switch.

Benesh recorded back-to-back blocks to regain the lead, 12-11. Two errors, one a serving and another hitting, gave Qatar the lead again. Cherif ended the long rally with a block to make it 14-12. Three hitting errors in a row gave Qatar a five-point lead, 17-12. A Cherif kill off the block extended the run to 7-0 before a hitting error ended it. Another Cherif block gave Qatar set point. After a Partain kill, Cherif scored on a second ball as Qatar ended the set on a 10-2 run.

Benesh added four kills to his three blocks to score seven points in the set with Partain registering six kills. Kills (10-10) and blocks (3-3) were even, but the U.S. made eight errors, while Qatar made just one.

After trailing 4-3, Qatar went on a 4-1 run to take a 7-5 lead in the second set. An ace that trickled off the net increased the lead to three, 10-7. A Partain kill on a second ball and a Benesh block brought the U.S. back within a point, 11-10.

Qatar scored the first two points after the side switch to go back up by three points. Despite multiple great digs by Ahmed, who is the top defender in this year’s Olympics, and hustle by Cherif, the U.S. scored the next point to pull back within two points and lead to a Qatar timeout. A Cherif block gave Qatar its biggest lead of the set, 16-12, before the side switch.

A net violation extended the lead to five points before the U.S. scored. A sixth service error made it 18-13. A Benesh kill and his fifth block of the match closed the gap to three points. The U.S. looked like it was going to pull within two, but more tremendous defense by Ahmed prevented it.

A Benesh kill on a second ball made the score 19-16 before the side change. A Qatar kill gave them match point with an ace ending the match. Benesh led the U.S. with eight points on six kills and two blocks, while Partain again totaled six kills.

The match was the first in the last four meetings between the teams that did not go three sets. Partain/Benesh won in Ostrava earlier this year 15-8 in the deciding set after each team won a set 21-19. Cherif/Ahmid dropped the first set in both meetings in 2023 but came back to win in the third set each time, 15-9 in Ostrava and 20-18 on their home court in Doha. In their only previous matchup that did not go the distance, Cherif/Ahmid took both sets 22-20 in Maldives (South Asia) in 2022.