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London • Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor huddled in a hallway with their coach Tuesday night moments after reaching their third consecutive Olympic beach volleyball final.
The man who has helped the dynamic pair rediscover their confidence wanted to calm them down after a riveting 22-20, 22-20 semifinal victory over second-seeded Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China.
"It's not about our game tomorrow," Marcio Sicoli told them. "It's about our recovery tonight. Everything starts tonight."
The Californians will return to Horse Guards Parade in central London on Wednesday night to put an exclamation point on an historic partnership.
It will be an all-American finale after fourth-seeded April Ross and Jen Kessy, who live in Orange County, upset top-ranked Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva of Brazil in a driving rainstorm.
Ross and Kessy are the final barrier as Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor try to win their third consecutive gold medal in a sport that joined the Olympics in 1996.
After a rocky start this year, the greatest sensation to hit the beach since Annette Funicello has been nothing less than inspiring.
"They were playing awesome, but we made it happen," May-Treanor said of the semifinal victory.
No one on the sand court with Big Ben and the London Eye looming in the background made it happen more than Walsh Jennings, a former Archbishop Mitty-San Jose and Stanford volleyball star. The woman known as "Six feet of sunshine" seemed possessed Tuesday when the Americans fell into a deep hole in the first set.
Xue and the left-handed Zhang made the famous pair look discombobulated in rushing to a 13-7 lead. The Chinese's strategy seemed simple: keep the ball away from Walsh Jennings, who never received a service.
Walsh Jennings, though, brought the game to her with dominating blocking that led a rally as the Americans tied the score with six consecutive points.
Walsh Jennings told her partner, "We need to start pulling our heads out now, now, now." But to actually succeed against the 2008 Olympic bronze medalists surprised her.
"To do it against that team is just insane because they are really good, that never happens," Walsh Jennings said. "That means we're tougher than we think and we have it in us."
Xue and Zhang didn't give up after the demoralizing comeback. But they never played as fluidly as their start in the taut match.
"Her blocking gave us pressure and made me make many mistakes," Xue said of Walsh Jennings.
Perhaps the most intimidating play came late in the second set when the Chinese were doing everything in their power to continue.
Leading 19-18, Xue and Zhang appeared to be on the verge of victory when the long-legged Walsh Jennings tracked down an errant pass from her partner. Walsh Jennings deftly knocked the ball over the net while sliding underneath without touching it. The ball fell like in Slo-motion out of the Chinese's reach.
"I've been inspired by U.S. women's gymnastics," Walsh Jennings quipped of her acrobatic maneuver in the sand. "That situation is about being aggressive and there was a little luck involved."
It has been an emotional journey for the decade-long partners who are best friends. An Achilles tendon injury left May-Treanor sidelined last year and pretty much in retirement. But she decided to reunite with her partner for one final Olympic adventure.
The run has been as historic as any in the relatively brief history of Olympic beach volleyball, a sport born on the sands of Southern California. Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor have never lost in the Olympics. They dropped their first and only set in an early round in London.
The game has changed but it hasn't passed them up yet.
"We got knocked back, but then we got our footing and we came right back at them," Walsh Jennings said of the Chinese. "They attacked us from the word go, and we just had to attack them even more - that's how we came
back and won the first set.''
Xue knew it would be tough despite the Americans' struggle on the world tour this year. The Chinese hoped to keep their opponents off kilter by forcing May-Treanor to do most of the hitting.
Ultimately they couldn't overcome Walsh Jennings' intimidating blocking, which led to May-Treanor placing shots beyond China's coverage.
"She protects Misty," Xue said.
"She wants to be the best," May-Treanor added of her partner. "She brings an energy that is infectious."
May-Treanor promised Tuesday that the next match is her finale. She recalled all the coaches in Orange County who impacted her life, saying she wants to join the coaching profession. But May-Treanor wasn't getting misty about the end just yet.
Neither was Walsh Jennings, who lamented the finality of the next match "heightens everything."
They hope for a soft landing, but the way the tournament has unfolded, the third-seeded team expects more theatrics.
"The journey is a roller coaster," Sicoli said. "And we're comfortable with the roller coaster."
It could be one wild ride for the gold medal Wednesday in the sandpit.
Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865 and follow him on Twitter at