Australian beach volleyballers Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy have continued to stake their claims for a Rio Olympics berth, with a fourth-place finish at the World Tour event in California.
The duo lost the bronze medal match at the Long Beach Grand Slam on Monday (AEST), going down 21-17, 21-13 to Germany's Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst.
Bawden and Clancy, ranked fifth in the world, are Australia's top-ranked beach volleyball team.
They need to stay in the top 15 up until June next to year to automatically qualify for next year's Olympics.
Bawden teamed up with Clancy in 2012 following her unsuccessful London Olympics campaign with former partner Becchara Palmer.
After a solid but unspectacular 2013 and 2014 seasons, the pair have this year become one of the world's most consistent teams, finishing fifth at the world championships in early July.
Their best performance this year was a bronze medal at June's Porec Grand Slam in Croatia, to go with another four top-five finishes before this event.
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