BEIJING -- Just before the medal ceremony, U.S. men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon was handed a cell phone. "You won! You won! You won!" his wife Elisabeth yelled from 6,000 miles away, the middle of the night her time.

McCutcheon didn't need to answer.

"We were just listening to each other smile on the phone," McCutcheon said.

In 16 days, McCutcheon's life has been transformed. He lost his father-in-law and won a gold medal.

BEIJING -- The U.S. men's volleyball team won the Olympic gold medal today, defeating defending champion Brazil to complete a perfect run through a tournament shadowed by a grisly attack at a Beijing tourist site.

The Americans captured their third gold medal in the sport with a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory in the final.

Top-ranked Brazil, a two-time gold medalist, was left with the silver medal. Russia won the bronze earlier in the day with a three-set victory over Italy.

The U.S. surge to the title came after coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was fatally stabbed the day before competition started. McCutcheon missed the team's first three games to be with his wife, a former volleyball Olympian whose mother was also injured in the attack.

BEIJING -- On a mission to win its first gold medal, the U.S. women's volleyball team pushed Brazil harder Saturday than it had been pushed in these Olympics. In the end, it wasn't enough.

Behind a dominating defense, the world's No.1 team beat the U.S, 3-1, (25-15, 18-25, 25-13, 25-21) at the Capital Gymnasium.

It was Brazil's first gold in women's volleyball.

Moments after watching their opponents take a victory lap in front of raucous fans draped in yellow and green, the U.S. women held their heads high, knowing they were the only Olympic team to win a set off Brazil.

"Four years ago, none of us really expected us to be here," U.S. captain Lindsey Berg said. "It's been a long journey, and we've come a long way. We couldn't be more proud of what we've done here."

The U.S. had not won an Olympic medal since getting the bronze at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, and they were not a gold medal favorite.

And it had been 24 years since the team had won a silver when it lost to China and superstar Lang Ping in 1984 in Los Angeles.

Lang took over as coach of the U.S. team 3½ years ago, and Saturday, as throughout the games, Chinese fans treated her like a conquering hero.

Each time the U.S. scored Saturday, the Chinese joined Americans in the arena in chanting, "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Behind the support, the U.S. tied Brazil, 21-21, in the fourth set, before dropping four straight points and the match.

But afterward, libero Stacy Sykora beamed as though she and her teammates had won gold. After playing in Sydney and Athens, Sykora had taken three years off before deciding to come back.

"That was the greatest move of my life -- ever," she said.

The celebration Saturday contrasted starkly with how the Games started for the U.S. Todd Bachman, the father-in-law of men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon and father of former U.S. player Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman McCutcheon, was stabbed to death at a Beijing tourist site on Aug. 9. McCutcheon's mother was injured in the attack in which the assailant committed suicide.

Many of the players had inscribed "Wiz" on their wrists or shoulders as a sign of support.

"The Bachman family has been on our minds throughout this whole tournament since the tragedy," Berg said. "We can't express how sorry we are."

In the bronze medal match, China defeated Cuba, 3-1.

BEIJING -- Brazil has won its first gold medal in women's volleyball, ending the United States' dramatic run.

Brazil defeated the Americans three sets to one, to complete the Olympic tournament undefeated. The final match went 25-18, 18-25, 25-13, 25-21.

The Olympics started on a tragic note for the U.S. team when the father of a former teammate was fatally stabbed at a popular tourist site hours after the opening ceremony.

The competition was also marked by the return of U.S. coach Jenny Lang Ping to her hometown. Lang led the Chinese team to the gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Games with a final-match victory over the United States.

BEIJING -- Phil Dalhausser blocked out the score, the sun and the Brazilian beat that shook the Olympic beach volleyball gold medal game.

Then he blocked just about everything else.

Associated PressPhil Dalhausser of the United States, top, spikes against Brazil's Fabio Magalhaes during the gold medal match in beach volleyball.

Dalhausser rejected three straight shots in the decisive set to turn a tight match into a blowout, then did it again on the championship point today to give the Americans the sport's first Olympic gold medal sweep.

"I got in a zone, I guess," Dalhausser said. "I blocked it all out. It's just one of those things where you see everything perfectly and it all seems to be in slow motion."

Dalhausser and Todd Rogers beat Brazil's Fabio and Marcio, 23-21, 17-21, 15-4, winning their Olympic debuts in classic beach volleyball weather a day after Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor weathered a driving rainstorm to win their second straight gold.

It is the third beach volleyball gold for the American men in four Olympics since the sport was added in 1996. On Thursday, May-Treanor and Walsh continued a tradition that began when beach volleyball legend Karch Kiraly won the inaugural men's event in Atlanta with Kent Steffes.

Koji Sasahara/Associated PressSergey Grankin (6), Alexey Kuleshov (18), and Alexander Kosarev (3), of Russia, block as William Priddy of United States spikes in a men's semifinal volleyball match today in Beijing.

With the 25-22, 25-21, 25-27, 22-25, 15-13 victory today, the U.S. men remain undefeated in Beijing.

They play the winner of the late semifinal between Brazil and Italy in the title match on Sunday. Russia plays the loser in the bronze medal match.

The United States won Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988, before winning the bronze in 1994. But the closest they've gotten since then was a fourth-place finish at the 2004 Athens games.

Andy Wong / AP U.S. volleyball player Kim Willoughby, seen here blasting a spike against Poland, and her teammates beat Cuba in straight sets Thursday to advance to the gold-medal final where they'll play Brazil.

BEIJING -- The U.S. women's volleyball team has walked an emotional tightrope throughout these Olympics. Now it stands one victory away from a gold medal.

The U.S. squad avenged an earlier loss in these Olympics with a convincing 3-0 win over Cuba on Thursday. That set up a gold-medal game Saturday against Brazil, which defeated China, 3-0, on Thursday in the other semifinal. Brazil is ranked No. 1 in the world.

"I love playing against Brazil," U.S. player Kim Willoughby said. "They're such a high-level team that they force us to play better."

Cuba had beaten the U.S. in straight sets during pool play, but the U.S. neatly reversed that result Thursday. Its 25-20, 25-16, 25-17 win over the Cuban team assured America of its first medal in women's indoor volleyball since 1992. The U.S. has never won gold in the event.

Before the semifinal, several of the U.S. players wrote "Wiz" on some part of their clothing or on their bodies, according to American player Logan Tom. That was a reminder to them of what 2004 U.S. volleyball Olympian Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman McCutcheon and her family are going through.

Nhat V. Meyer / APUSA's Kerri Walsh, left and Misty May- Treanor celebrate after beating China to win the gold medal Thursday in Beijing. It was the duo's second straight Olympic gold medal and 108th staight win.

BEIJING -- The morning of the beach volleyball final broke gloomy and dank, like a scene set by Stephen King, which surely must have raised questions for the sport's true believers:

Who cares if we can play?

Can we still party?

Sorry, my bad, just another cliche exaggeration about one of the Olympics' most lampooned sports.

Unless lightning strikes someone dead, apparently there's never a question whether they'll play.

"I don't care if it's raining, I'm going to give it my all!" came the valiant cry from the sandy court below.

Of course, it was made by one of the DJs. But it was the spirit of the thing.

The dueling DJs bellowed, the imported cheerleaders cavorted, the packed house at Chaoyang Park echoed in reply.

On a side note: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the most successful team since Johnson & Johnson, continued their domination of the sport.

May-Treanor and Walsh beat the Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie, 21-18, 21-18, Thursday to win their second straight gold medal.

"Awesome!" a soaked Walsh shrieked in the mixed zone, an American flag draped over her arm.

"It was so awesome!"

Natacha Pisarenko / APUnited States' Misty May-Treanor, above, and her teammate Kerri Walsh won the gold medal in beach volleyball Thursday in Beijing. The duo beat China, 21-18, 21-18.

BEIJING -- The weather, dark and damp, did its best to diffuse beach volleyball's explosive pair.

The home crowd, patriotic and persistent, did its best to push the ultimate underdog's through to arguably its most unexpected gold medal to add to its immense collection.

None of it was enough of a factor to keep Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor from doing what they always do: win.

The American duo successfully defended its Athens gold medal, beating China's pair of Jie Wang and Jia Tian in straight sets, 21-18, 21-18. Walsh and May-Treanor ripped through the Olympic tournament without dropping a set, just as they did in Athens four years ago.

The two haven't lost a match on the beach since August 2007 in Boston. Since partnering up back in 2001, they quickly established themselves as the best team on the beach, and their Beijing gold only solidifies it. And with May-Treanor at 31 years old and Walsh just turning 30 this week, it very well could be their last Olympic Games.

If this was their last Games, it ended just how they would've liked. Despite the conditions and a very game Chinese team, the Americans fought through near the end of each set to claim the win.

Despite Walsh's surgically repaired right shoulder covered in black Kinesio tape, which eases pain and increases circulation in the area, the Chinese stayed away from the 6-3 inch Stanford product, choosing instead to serve May-Treanor and force her to terminate as often as possible.

Down the stretch of the opening set, the plan backfired on China, as May-Treanor got on a roll. With the set tied at 17-17, May-Treanor had three consecutive kills to give the U.S. a 3-0 scoring run. After China stemmed the tide with a point of its own, May-Treanor ended the set with another kill, putting the U.S. one set away from gold.

Natacha Pisarenko / APKerri Walsh

The second set starting much like the first, with Wang and Tian taking small leads throughout much of the set. But trailing, 15-14, the U.S. pair went on another 3-0 run, this one also capped by a May-Treanor kill, to lead 17-15.

With the rain driving down and the players practically playing in mud, the Chinese fought back this time, tying the game at 18-18.

That's when May-Treanor, wife of Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor, ran down a deep attempt by the Chinese and followed it with a powerful kill off the block. A hitting error by the Chinese gave the Americans a match point. May-Treanor and Walsh wasted no time ending the match, this time on a Walsh kill, sending the duo into each other's arms and onto their knees in celebration.

After finding family members to hug, they grabbed American flags, danced around the Chaoyang Park volleyball complex and celebrated yet another victory, this one resulting in a second gold medal.

As she did after the semifinal, and after the medal rounds in Athens, May-Treanor scattered some of her mother Barbara's ashes on the court. Barbara May died in 2002 after a long battle with cancer.

Before May-Treanor and Walsh won their rain-soaked match, the Chinese pairing of Xue and Zhang Xi won the bronze medal by defeating Brazil's Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha 21-19, 21-17.

Koji Sasahara / APRyan Millar of United State spikes against Andrija Geric (12) of Serbia during the Americans' win in a quarterfinals match Wednesday in Beijing.

BEIJING -- The U.S. men's volleyball team tends to be an emotional lot, even without personal tragedy or Olympic competition to spur it. Add those two things to the mix, though, and the result is overwhelming.

The United States defeated Serbia in a tense, draining and ultimately exhilarating five sets Wednesday night and moved into the Olympic semifinals. Next on the agenda: Friday's match against Russia, with the winner advancing to the gold-medal game. The Americans have been countering the horror of the Aug. 9 attack on Todd and Barbara Bachman with an intensity and strength of purpose that sustained them through a tough quarterfinal test at Capital Gymnasium.

The United States won 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 15-12 in a two-hour match that ended at 12:15 a.m. With a horde of Serbian fans booing, the Americans maintained their composure through a series of wild momentum swings on the same day Barbara Bachman's condition was upgraded to good.

"You could see the amount of heart and grit both teams put out there," said Ryan Millar, who led the United States with seven kill blocks. "You've got to put it all out there, or you're on the next flight home. Today was a great example of us saying we're not going to die. We're going to keep fighting until the end.

"If something special does happen in the end, it would be a great tribute to [the Bachmans]. What we've accomplished already, I think they're pretty happy with what we're doing. We're playing our hearts out for them."

Andy Wong, APUSA players from left, Danielle Scott-Arruda, Kimberly Glass, Tayyiba Hareef-Park, Nicole Davis and Tom Logan celebrate after scoring a point against Italy on Wednesday.

Beijing -- Trailing, 2-1, and looking toward the worst of all Olympic losses in the dreaded quarterfinals -- when a win means a possible medal and a loss secures fifth place -- the USA women's volleyball team dug down and then deeper in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

With the familiar "U-S-A, U-S-A" chant ringing in their ears, the Americans rallied behind the emotional lift and stabilizing presence provided by setter Lindsey Berg to defeat Italy, 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 15-6, to advance to the medal round against Cuba.

"Even though they crushed us in pool play, we're just going to keep fighting as a team," said Berg of the Americans' three-set loss to Cuba, their only setback here. "If we can just pass a little better, touch a few more balls and get in Cuba's head a little bit, they can break down like any team."

Beijing -- Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser will play for the gold medal in beach volleyball.

The reigning world champions beat Georgia, 21-11, 21-13, in the semifinal Wednesday in one of the quickest matches of the Olympics. The U.S. pair will play on Friday against the winner of the other final-four game, an all-Brazil matchup.

Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro are native Brazilians who obtained Georgian passports to avoid a quota that limits each country to two entries in the 24-team field.

Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will play in the women's final Thursday against China.

Natacha Pisarenko / APAmerican Misty May-Treanor, right, hits the ball as teammate Kerri Walsh looks on during fheir semifinal beach volleyball match against Brazil on Tuesday in Beijing. The U.S. won to advance to Thursday's gold-medal match against China.

BEIJING -- The Brazilian duo's serve whistled through the air and landed on the small patch of sand between Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

The defending gold-medal winners looked at the patch of sand, looked at each other -- and then slapped palms in encouragement.

Goodbye, miscommunication. Hello, dominance.

Rather than squabble, the seemingly unstoppable duo spiked its way out of trouble Tuesday morning, recording a 21-12, 21-14 semifinal victory over Talita Antunes da Rocha and Renata Trevisan Ribeiro.

"We could get frustrated, but the wheels come off when you start to argue," May-Treanor said. "There's no point. You stop and figure it out. You talk about it instead of turning your back on your teammate."

May-Treanor and Walsh have yet to drop a set in six straight victories and have won 68 straight international matches overall. Both know all that means nothing unless they close the deal in Thursday's gold-medal match against China's Jia Tian and Jie Wang.

With Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and other members of the U.S. men's basketball team in the house at Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, Walsh set the tone early with a left-handed spike on the match's first point.

"We came out flat against Belgium and we learned a lot from that," Walsh said. "It's important to have a fast start and we did that. We played the best team we've played so far and we played steady."

Steady is the right word for U.S. duo that has gone a calendar year without losing a match of any kind. Their last defeat was Aug. 19, 2007 on the AVP Tour in Boston.

May-Treanor and Walsh are headed for another gold-medal match, at which May-Treanor will reprise the tribute she performed both at Athens in 2004 and at this semifinal match.

May-Treanor spread some of her mother's ashes into the sand.

"I don't know if this is a finger or whatever this is, but they're out there now," she said lightheartedly. "I'll save the other half for the final. She's a world traveler. And, finally, my husband brought her urn. So there's still more to keep at home."

Perhaps alongside another gold medal.

BEIJING -- Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are in the beach volleyball final four after beating Germany, 21-13, 25-23.

The reigning world champions and gold medal favorites beat Eric Koreng and David Klemperer on Monday. The Americans will play Georgia, the No. 15 seed, a shocking straight-sets winner over the Netherlands.

BEIJING -- Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China have knocked Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh out of the Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinals, improving to 5-0 against the U.S. pair and eliminating the chances of an all-American final.

Xue, at 19 the youngest player in the men's or women's fields, and Zhan won 21-17, 21-13 to earn a spot in Tuesday's semifinal against the top-seeded Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie.

Earlier today, Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor advanced to the final four with a straight-sets victory over Brazilians Ana Paula and Larissa.