BEIJING — Kerri Walsh skipped in her bare feet across hot stone to hug her husband just outside Chaoyang Park's beach volleyball court, then strolled across black asphalt while screaming along with some of her boisterous U.S. fans.

Six Feet of Sunshine was at her merry best.

Just a few minutes earlier, Misty May-Treanor was on the court spreading some of her mother's ashes onto the sand.

The pair couldn't have celebrated their semifinal victory over Brazil's Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha any more distinctly. But it's part of what makes them the beach's perfect complements.

May-Treanor and Walsh moved on to the gold medal match with a decisive 21-12, 21-14 win, continuing their dominance in Beijing. They have yet to drop a set in the tournament, and will face China's Jie Wang and Jia Tian on Thursday. And they haven't dropped a match on the beach since August 2007, which bodes well for their chances to repeat as gold medalists.

"It's just very special to be back in the gold medal match," May-Treanor said.

The U.S. duo had an easy time in the first set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and extending to a lead as large as18-7 thanks in part to some shaky play from the Brazilians.

The second set was more closely contested to start, with Brazil actually having success serving Walsh — a rare strategy given Walsh's 6-3 frame and the ease with which she terminates at the net.

But the Brazilians still fell behind 16-12, needing a timeout to regroup. It didn't work, with Walsh controlling the net to extend the lead to 18-12.

Two points later, the Americans put together their most impressive point. May-Treanor lunged to her left for a one-handed dig, which left Walsh no choice but to attempt a diving bump set.

Walsh put the ball right on the net, and May-Treanor easily put it away to extend their lead to 20-12.

Three points later, the match was over, and the two were off to celebrate in very different ways.

May-Treanor, wife of Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor, began spreading her mother's ashes on Olympic courts after the semifinals of the Athens Games. Her mother Barbara died in 2002 after a long battle with cancer, and May-Treanor decided to spread some ashes after the Olympic semis and final. She continued the tradition here.

"You can't leave home without where I came from," May-Treanor said, holding up the small plastic film canister that is holding her mother's ashes on this trip.

"Obviously it's hard at first. But now I can talk about it freely and we have great stories. It's not easy, but time makes it better."

When her father prepared the ashes for her as she was packing for China, May-Treanor had some concerns.

"I was like, 'What if they take her in customs?"' she said with a laugh.

She had no problems, and her Olympic family gesture continues.

While May-Treanor has thought about her mother often, she hasn't thought once about failing in Beijing, her third and probably last Olympics.

She said it's not how she and Walsh operate. Besides, it's hard to remember the last time they failed together.

"Because we win, win, win, win, win," she said.

May-Treanor is so focused on success at these Games that she's sporting gold fingernails.

"You have to think gold," she said. "You have to be gold."

After addressing the media, the pair shared their gold thoughts with members of the USA basketball team that attended the match, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

Their demeanors were probably quite distinct in that setting as well. Fortunately for the two, they have just enough qualities in common.

"We have the same goal," May-Treanor said. "And we know we have the same fight."