PARIS — Miles Partain and Andy Benesh couldn’t stop the slide, so the United States is leaving beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics without a medal for the first time.
The 21-14, 21-16 loss to the Qatari team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in the quarterfinals on Wednesday made it the first American medal shutout since the sport was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Partain and Benesh carried American hopes with both women’s teams and the other men’s team already out of the tournament.
“I wish one of our teams did [win a medal],” Partain said. “We did the best we could.”
Benesh said the lack of American medals in the sport at the Paris Games was not necessarily because of a drop in the teams’ level but more because the general standard of play has gone up.
“It’s a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. There’s a lot of competition around the world,” Benesh said. “As a fan of beach volleyball, it’s fun to watch, people are playing with different styles in men’s and women’s [competition].”
The American pair led 12-11 in the first set at Eiffel Tower Stadium, but some sloppy shotmaking allowed the Qataris to pull away. Younousse and Tijan drew roars from the nighttime crowd with some of their improvised moves.
“Qatar played…
