RIO DE JANEIRO -- At some point, Phil Dalhausser just had to laugh.After the Americans survived a couple of match points -- and Italy fought off seven of their own -- the final set of their final match in pool play at the beach volleyball tournament at Copacabana was tied 22-22.Dalhausser smiled.His partner, Nick Lucena, smiled.The Italians smiled, too, and then slapped hands with Lucena after he got a lucky roll on a winner off the top of the net to give the Americans a 23-22 lead. When Lucena made another crafty play to provide the necessary two-point margin of victory, the United States had won.But only after the longest third set of the Rio Olympics so far.Its not very often you can have a game like that, said Lucena, an Olympic rookie who teamed with the 2008 gold medalist to win 21-13, 17-21, 24-22 on Thursday.Beach volleyball plays the first two sets to 21 points, and the leader has to win by 2. If necessary, a third set tiebreaker is played to 15 -- again requiring a 2-point margin of victory.Heading into Thursdays games, 22 of the 60 mens and womens matches played at Copacabana needed a third set. Only four of those went beyond 15, and only one of those required more than one extra point to settle it.When youre in the 20s in the third set, and its going back and forth, its pretty fun, said Dalhausser, who recalled once playing a first set that was 41-39.Even the Italian teams confessed to enjoying it.The match was great. It was great to watch, but it would have been better to win, said Paolo Nicolai, smiling afterward when he talked to reporters.Both persons are trying to do their best, he said. Its fun for the players. Its fun for the crowd. Its fun.With the victory, the Americans clinched the top spot in their group and a top seed in the knockout stage that begins on Friday. They will join top U.S. womens team Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, who also advanced through the pool play unbeaten.The other U.S. team that played on Thursday wasnt as lucky.Brooke Sweat and Lauren Fendrick took Russia to three sets before bowing out of the Summer Games with an 0-3 record in pool play. The first-time Olympians lost to Russias Ekaterina Birlova and Evgenia Ukolova in three sets, 21-18, 26-24, 15-13.Unfortunately it didnt come out our way today, but I am proud to stand next to her and fight any day, Fendrick said. We worked so hard. We had big goals and dreams, and I think if we had gotten past that round we would have gone pretty far and done some damage. So that parts hard.Sweat noted that the pair fought to qualify for Rio, finally finishing 15th on a points list with an Olympic cutoff at No. 17It was a battle just getting here, Sweat said.The No. 2 U.S. mens team of Jake Gibb and Casey Patters was eliminated on Wednesday after going 1-2 and losing the playoff tiebreaker. <a href="http://www.cheapathleticsjerseys.com/">Wholesale Athletics Jerseys</a>. Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. 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Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2.The USA womens football team - the reigning world champions - are threatening to go on strike over pay and could miss the Rio Olympics. The team asked a federal judge to give them the green light to strike, with the Olympic Games just two months away.The women argue that the gap in pay between them and the mens team is unfair and they are backed in their dispute by the US Senate, who on Thursday called on the United States Soccer Federation to immediately end gender pay inequity and to treat all athletes with the respect and dignity those athletes deserve. Lester Munston, a respected legal issues journalist, said: If this case continues, if the dispute continues, then there is a probability that the greatest womens soccer team in the world will not be participating in the Olympics. Houston Dashs midfielder Lloyd is a huge star in the States Richard Nichols, the players union executive director, said that whilst they want to resolve the dispute with the USSF, the team are prepared to strike.dddddddddddd.Were going to reserve our rights to do whatever we need to do to affect equal pay, he said.The women claim they are paid £2,400 to £3,380 per international, while their male counterparts receive £4,260 to £12,000.The USA women are the worlds No 1 team, winning the 2015 World Cup while the men are currently ranked 29 in the FIFA rankings. Also See: Sportswomen Olympics 2016 <a href="http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> ' ' '