The first time April Ross and Alix Klineman played together, they won—at an FIVB tournament in The Hague in January of this year.

Perhaps it’s an omen, a sign of things to come. Ross laughs and says, “I like to think so,” adding that she and her first partner Jen Kessy won their first international event.

Kessy is Ross and Klineman’s current coach.

Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings won their first international tournament together, as well.

After winning Olympic silver in London, falling in the gold medal match to Walsh-Jennings, and taking bronze in Rio, paired with the three-time Olympic gold medalist, Ross is aiming for the top of the podium in Tokyo.

“The ultimate in our sport is the Olympics. Tokyo 2020 is what I have my eyes set on," Ross said. "I’m very grateful for the two medals that I have, but I want a gold medal in Tokyo and so that’s what all these events are for, that’s what all the hard training is for—with that end goal in mind.”

The 6-foot-5 Klineman is also hoping for success on the sand in Tokyo.

That’s why she retired from playing professional volleyball indoors, after four years in Italy and two in Brazil.

“For me it’s…the ultimate accomplishment to be able to make it to that level of competition, to play against the best players in the world (and) to have played well enough to qualify for that," she said. "It would be everything to me.” 

Klineman grew up in Manhattan Beach, Cali., where beach volleyball is as popular as ice hockey is in Montreal.

The AVP tournament there was long referred to as the "Wimbledon" of pro beach volleyball.

Klineman played beach volleyball until she was about 11 or 12, when she turned her attention to the indoor version of the sport. 

Now with her indoor career behind her, Klineman is trading wood and sportcourt for sand. The transition is not always smooth for an indoor player. 

“I definitely thought it was gonna be a little bit easier than it ended up being.” Klineman admitted.

Klineman says there are still skills she needs to work on.

“A lot of things, my blocking is for sure a work in progress…setting can always be better…passing.” 

Still, Klineman must be doing something right, considering her results both this year and in 2017, when she was named AVP Rookie of the Year.

Ross certainly took notice.

“I saw her play a lot last year which was her first year on the beach and it (was) obvious what she needed to learn and get better at,” Ross said.

The 6-foot-1 Ross said that while Klineman has a bit of a learning curve, her new partner brings a solid work ethic from her indoor days to the beach game.

“I find that people who have played indoor at a professional level, a really high professional level, they have that ingrained (work ethic) you don’t get there without working really hard and having a lot of heart and a lot of passion, and so she definitely brought that out onto the beach and it’s helping her transition immensely,” Ross explained.

So far, so good for Ross and Klineman this season: two tournament wins (The Hague and the AVP stop in Austin, Texas) and a tie for third at AVP events in New York and San Francisco. Plus, two top five finishes on the FIVB tour.

Ross also had a runner-up finish in the AVP tournament in Seattle—but not with Klineman.

Caitlin Ledoux filled in for Klineman, who was resting her shoulder, as she and Ross fell to Betsi Flint and Emily Day.

Ross and Klineman have had only one finish outside the top 10 this season—a 25^th in Ft. Lauderdale—but Ross still found something positive about that less than desirable result. 

“We learned so much from that one finish that I think it’s helped us get better and fueled a little bit of our success since then,” she said.

A healthy and constantly improving Klineman, paired with Ross, who features stellar defense and dynamic jump serve, figure to only improve their world ranking, currently 25^th, as they eye the volleyball prize of Olympic gold in Tokyo.

This article was contributed by Steve Karmazin.