2012 Summer OlympicsVideo

Brazil’s Volleyball Team Lost, But Made One Of The Best Plays Of The Olympics

It’s been a rough run at the Summer Olympics for Brazil’s women’s volleyball team. They won gold in Beijing in 2008, but they’re staring down early elimination this time around after unexpectedly dropping a match to South Korea in straight sets yesterday.

But even if they can’t repeat their 2008 efforts, it won’t mean the Brazilians didn’t have their moments in London. Specifically, we’re talking about one point from the second set of that loss to South Korea yesterday – a point Brazil won after a save we can only describe as miraculous:

Not often you see a kick so skillfully employed in volleyball. It’s just a shame such a spectacular play could only contribute to such a disappointing loss – I frame everything in Rutgers football terms, so this reminded me of a play from the disastrous 2006 game against Cincinnati in which linebacker Devraun Thompson saved a touchdown by jumping over the lines and recording a goal-line sack, still among the greatest individual plays I’ve ever seen in a football game. Like the save above, an absolutely transcendent moment ultimately lost in a sea of less-than-transcendent moments. At least we can help keep it alive.

And if you’d rather watch in gif form, here you go, via CBS Sports.

[h/t Gregg Doyel]