PALMER AND BAWQDEN FALL TO GERMANS

From Ian Hanson at Horse Guards Parade.....

LONDON, July 29: Australia's Becchara Palmer and Louise Bawden will rely on team work and their support crew to get them back on track after a hard-fought opening round, two sets to one beach volleyball loss in front of 15,000 fans at historic Horse Guards Parade today.

Australia's Becchara Palmer and Louise Bawden will rely on team work and their support crew to get them back on track after a hard-fought opening round, two sets to one beach volleyball loss in front of 15,000 fans at historic Horse Guards Parade today.

After losing a tight opening set 21-18 they fought back to dominate the second set, winning 21-19 before losing the deciding set against the clinical German pair Laura Ludwig and Sarah Goller 15-8.

"We will go back and re-group and talk to our coaches and support staff and get ready for our second match - we've got a great team around us and we'll take some positives out of that game," said Bawden, back at the Olympics 12 years after making her debut in the indoor team 12 years at the Sydney Olympics.

"We knew we were playing well and just had to get some momentum going in the second set and we did that - the crowd was great and we started to put it all together.

"Unfortunately the German girls got a roll on in the third set and we were never in it, but we are confident we can come back in our second game."

Both girls had dominant serving phases in the second set which saw them rattle up four and five straight points respectively on serve but the Germans were never beaten and kept pulling off some powerful blocks and serves, which the Australians had no answer to in what turned out to be a one-side final and deciding set.

At times, both Palmer and Bawden showed the skills and power that has made them one of the top 16 teams on the FIVB circuit, but will look to get their consistency back for their next three Pool E matches.

The match started out in patches of sunshine but it wasn't long before the rains came and a light shower rained on the parade ground for most of the match, something which Bawden said didn't affect their game at all - and it didn't bother the vocal crowd who also braved the open air venue in full voice.

"Weather does not bother us at all, the worse the weather the better we like it, bring it on we say," said Bawden.

"We are used to playing in all kinds of conditions and they only stop the matches when there is lightning - our winter is likje this back in Australia."

Palmer and Bawden will now have a day off before playing against Dutch pair Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel on Tuesday.

Australia's other beach volleyball pairing, Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley will play their second match tomorrow (Monday) against Austria's Schwaiger sisters Sophie and Doris in another late night match set down for Horse Guards Parade at 10pm.

|Sydney Olympic golden girl and five-time Olympian Cook and triple Olympian Hinchley pushed two-time and defending Olympic champions Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor to the limit in their opening Pool C match - going down 21-18 and 2-19 - a score that certainly did not reflect the match, as the experienced Australians looked in excellent touch.

Walsh-Jennings and May-Treanor have a remarkable Olympic record of not losing a set or a match in Athens, Beijing and after the first day of their third Games in London.

That is 15 matches together - 14 between Athens and Beijing and one in London and a total of 30 sets without loss.