Rogers/Dalhausser beat Gibb/Rosenthal in Klagenfurt

In each of the five Grand Slams this season on the FIVB World Tour, top-seeded Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser have faced each of the other three U.S. duos that travel internationally in pool play at least once. After meeting in their opening match Thursday at the Klagenfurt Grand Slam, fellow 2008 Olympians Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal have been their opponents in three of those pools.

Only Thursday was the first time Rogers and Dalhausser won such a match. After winning the first set 21-16, the No. 1 seed lost the second by the same score. But Rogers and Dalhausser rebounded to win the deciding game, 16-14.

The loss doesn't eliminate Gibb and Rosenthal, the No. 16 seed, as the duo won its second pool match of the day over No. 17 Miguel Maia and Pedro Rosas of Portugal (21-12, 21-16). Rogers and Dalhausser also won their second match, defeating home-crowd favorites Clemens Doppler and Matthias Mellitzer of Austria (21-18, 21-15). Each men's team plays its third pool match Friday morning.

In their previous two Grand Slam pool-play losses to Gibb and Rosenthal, Rogers and Dalhausser bounced back to win the gold medal in Rome and Gstaad. They also won the title at the Prague Open, when they fell to Gibb and Rosenthal in the second round, won four matches in the contender's bracket to get a rematch, then eliminated Gibb and Rosenthal and went on to win it all.

Rogers/Dalhausser and Gibb/Rosenthal have faced each other more than any other team in their careers, and this season will likely feature more head-to-head matches than ever. Rogers and Dalhausser are 9-3 against their rivals this season, the same mark they had against Gibb and Rosenthal in 2007. The reigning Olympic champs also hold the all-time series advantage, 42-12.

No. 12 Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena of the U.S. also dropped their first match Thursday, to No. 21 Petr Benes and Premysl Kubala of the Czech Republic (21-18, 21-16), but came back to win their night match against No. 28 Sebastian Dollinger and Stefan Windscheif of Germany (15-21, 21-18, 15-12). The Americans face No. 5 Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera of Spain in their final group match Friday.

The fourth American men's team, No. 19 Casey Jennings and Brad Keenan, who had to win two qualifier matches Wednesday to get into the main draw, were saddled with a tough draw and lost both matches Thursday. The day started with a grueling 36-34 defeat in the first game against 30th-seeded Spaniards Inocencio Lario and Raul Mesa, from which they couldn't recover, thus dropping the second game 21-14. In their second match, Jennings and Keenan fell to No. 14 Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado of Brazil (21-17, 21-15). The Americans need a win over No. 3 Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego of Brazil on Friday to advance.

Top American women's pairs advance
On the women's side, No. 4 Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh of the U.S. finished group play 3-0 to earn a bye into the second round of elimination play, as did No. 6 Jen Kessy and April Ross of the U.S. The other two U.S. women's teams were eliminated.

May-Treanor and Branagh needed three games, but dispatched No. 13 Lenka Hajeckova Felbabova and Hana Klapalova of the Czech Republic (19-21, 21-14, 15-6) Thursday morning after two wins Wednesday. The Americans will face ninth-seeded Austrians Barbara Hansel and Sara Montagnolli on center court in the first match of the day Friday morning.

Kessy and Ross didn't play Thursday, as their third group opponent, Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the Netherlands, withdrew due to injury. They'll face 16th-seeded Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic on Friday morning.

No. 17 Ashley Ivy and Lisa Rutledge of the U.S. won their final group match over Kerstin Pichler and Cornelia Rimser of Austria (13-21, 21-19, 20-18), but were ousted in the first round of elimination by 23rd-seeded Spaniards Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez Steiner (16-21, 21-14, 16-14).

Ivy and Rutledge lost twice on Wednesday, as did No. 7 Angie Akers and Tyra Turner of the U.S., who withdrew from their final match Thursday due to injury. It is Akers and Turner's second 25th-place result in their last three FIVB events.

The women's semifinals and medal matches will be Saturday, followed by the men's semis and medal matches Sunday. Watch all the medal matches LIVE starting at 7:30 a.m. ET on Satuday and Sunday, then full replays of all medal matches, as well as highlights, after the conclusion.