When it comes to women's beach volleyball and the Olympics, it's hard to not complete that sentence without mention of a United States team.
For the longest time at the Olympic Games, it was Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanorwho dominated the competition, as the pair won gold medals in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. (Beach volleyball was made an official Olympic sport in 1996).
Now the United States could have their next dynamic duo in Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two are out to a 1-0 start in Group B play at the Paris Games after taking down Canada's Sophie Bukovec and Heather Bansley in straight sets (21-17, 21-14) on Saturday at Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS:Meet the members of Team USA at the Summer Games
And while Paris serves as the Olympic debut for both Nuss and Kloth — who are the No. 2 pairing for the United States in Paris — it isn't the first time both have played with each other. You'd have to go back to 2021 for that, when the two dominated in college at LSU.
Here's what you need to know about Nuss and Kloth as beach volleyball competition continues in Paris at the Olympics Games, including their schedule of competition in Paris:
Who is Kristen Nuss?
Kristin Nuss is a member of the United States Women's Beach Volleyball team that is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old who hails from New Orleans spent her entire collegiate career at LSU on the Tigers' beach volleyball team. During her five years at LSU, Nuss became one of the most decorated and winningest beach volleyball players in NCAA history, as she racked up a total of 136 victories. She finished her collegiate career with only 21 losses.
Nuss won nine matches over ranked teams, seven of which were top-10 teams, during her freshman campaign with the Tigers (when she was paired up with Claire Coppola). Over the next three seasons, Nuss and Coppola became one of the winningest duos in college beach volleyball, becoming just the third NCAA pair to reach the 100-win mark.
In 2021, Nuss carried that momentum when she got paired up with Kloth, as the two became just the second pair in NCAA history to go 36-0 on Court 1 — i.e., the No. 1 spot — and earn AVAC National Pair of the Year honors. As noted by Nuss' LSU profile page, 32 of their 36 victories came in straight sets (i.e., won the match in two straight sets).
The 2024 Paris Olympics aren't the first time that Nuss is donning the red, white and blue, either: She was part of the United States' Beach Collegiate National Team in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
Who is Taryn Kloth?
Taryn Kloth is a member of the United States Women's Beach Volleyball team that is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native spent three seasons at LSU from 2019 through 2021. In her three years on the Tigers' beach volleyball team, Kloth went an impressive 67-9, with 36 wins coming alongside Nuss in 2021. If that wasn't impressive enough, Kloth finished her collegiate career in the sand with LSU on a 50-0 streak after being left off the Tigers' 2018 NCAA championship lineup.
Prior to playing beach volleyball at LSU, Kloth began her career playing indoor volleyball at Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska — a common trend for indoor volleyball players to go play beach volleyball. As noted by Creighton's Sports Information Department, Kloth became the first female Olympian in Creighton Athletics history on Saturday, when she and Nuss and defeated Canada. She is just the seventh former Creighton player to play in the Olympics.
In Saturday's Group B win over Canada, Kloth finished 10 kills on 15 swings and hitting .467 while also recording three blocks.
How tall is Kristin Nuss?
Per her USA Volleyball profile, Nuss is listed at 5-foot-4.
How tall is Taryn Kloth?
Per her USA Volleyball profile, Kloth is listed at 6-foot-4.
Kristen Nuss' Olympic record, history
- Olympics competed in: Paris 2024
- Total Olympic medals won: None
The 2024 Paris Olympics are Nuss' first. Heading into the Paris Olympics, Nuss and Kloth won two gold medals on the Beach Pro Tour as a pair — a professional beach volleyball league — in 2024. Here's how the two have fared on the BPT in 2024:
- BPT Elite 16 Gstaad: Gold
- BPT Espinho Elite 16: Gold
- BPT Brasilia Elite 16: Silver
- BPT Doha Elite 16: T-9th
Taryn Kloth Olympic record, history
- Olympics competed in: Paris 2024
- Total Olympic medals won: None
Similarly to Nuss, Kloth is making her Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Where do Kristin Nuss, Taryn Kloth rank in the world?
Nuss and Kloth are currently the No. 2 ranked women’s beach pair in the world per the Official Women's Beach Volleyball Rankings by FIVB.
Kristen Nuss, U.S. Women's Beach Volleyball Olympics schedule
Here's the full schedule of competition for Nuss and Kloth at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including start times and how to watch information:
Preliminary Matches:
- Saturday, July 27: United States (Nuss/Kloth) 2, Canada (Bansley/Bukovec) 0
- Monday, July 29: United States (Nuss/Kloth) vs. Australia (Mariafe/Clancy) | 3 p.m. CT | NBC (Fubo)
- Thursday, Aug. 1: United States (Nuss/Kloth) vs. China (Xue/X.Y. Xia) | 3 p.m. CT | Peaco*ck (digital only)
Knockout Round:
- Sunday, Aug. 4 through Tuesday, Aug. 6: Round of 16
- Wednesday, Aug. 7: Quarterfinal
- Thursday, Aug. 8: Semifinal
- Friday, Aug. 9: Bronze final and Gold final
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