Beach volleyball pro Day is one good tournament from Olympic dream

It comes down to Hamburg, Germany, for Emily Day and her beach volleyball partner, Jennifer Kessy. The two leave for the Grand Slam on Saturday, needing a strong finish in the final event of the FIVB World Tour to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

“It’s tough, because this is the ultimate goal is to go to the Olympics and win a medal,” Day said Monday. “So there’s pressure, but it’s weird, because when you’re on the court and you’re playing, you’re not thinking Olympics. You’re not thinking, ‘If I win this, I get this.’ You’re just taking it point by point.”

Day appeared in a meet-and-greet sponsored by Smoothie King during an AAU/ROX qualifier tournament at the Apex Sports Center. The Torrance, Calif., native, who played at Loyola Marymount, signed autographs on action photos, adding “Go USA!”

That’s her hope.

The ranking deadline is June 13, the day after the Hamburg tournament, with Day and Kessy needing to finish ahead of Fendrick and Sweat to qualify.

“We’ve been playing a lot better every tournament,” Day said. “We have the potential for it, so I’m confident.”

The two partnered before the 2015 season after Kessy returned from delivering her first child. She gave birth to daughter Aila on Aug. 14, 2014.

Kessy won the silver medal with Ross in the London Olympics, losing to Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor in the final. May-Treanor retired, and Ross and Walsh Jennings formed a new team.

“The beach volleyball world is pretty small,” Day said. “You look at somebody who can complement you as a partner, who has the same goals and dedication as you. … She took time off to have a baby, and I knew she was going to come back, but I didn’t know she wanted to go to the Olympics again. As soon as I heard that, there were phone calls being made.”

Day, 28, has never made an Olympic team. But she’s dreamed of it often.

“It’s the lifelong dream, and it’s not just going,” Day said. “It’s going and getting the medal. It’s high, high expectations.”

Kessy has versed Day in what to expect at the Olympics, with both planning on being there in August.

“Her knowledge is invaluable,” Day said. “It’s just from silly stuff like, ‘Your parents are going to go to the P&G House, and we’re going to play every other day.’ I’m like, ‘Whoa!’ There’s so much just from the on-court stuff. The fact that she’s been there and competed in the gold-medal match is awesome.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Beach volleyball pro Day is one good tournament from Olympic dream."