RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The sun went down, and so did the mood at the Copacabana Olympic beach volleyball venue.
Then Alison stomped onto the sand.
The 6-foot-8 Brazilian known as "Mammoth" waved his arms and clapped his hands to encourage the hometown fans cheering their favorites into the gold medal match with a three-set victory over the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Taking the court after the top-seeded Brazilian women lost their semifinal to Germany, Alison and Bruno beat Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen 21-17, 21-23, 16-14. Alison had a beastly 12 blocks in the match — five in the third set alone, including one to give Brazil a match point at 14-13.