In 1988, Liz was a starter on the U.S. National Indoor Team in the Olympics in Seoul, Korea.  In 2004, she coached the bronze medal team of Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak at the Athens Olympics. In 2008, she returned to the Olympics coaching one of the two U.S. beach volleyball teams which competed in the Beijing Games.

Here are some stats and facts about the tandem of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

Branagh and Youngs Claim Cuervo Gold Crown For Second Straight Year

The format for determining which team wins the large cash bonus for winning the Cuervo Gold Crown changed from last year to this year, but the result stayed the same; Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs again claimed the top prize. Last season the duo won $100,000 for notching the best finishes in the first three tournaments. This year, the top four teams from the opening events were invited to play in a winner-take-all playoff with $25,000 going to the victors.

The special playoff took place following the Huntington Beach Open on the AVP Crocs Tour, which was the first time this year Nicole and EY failed to reach the championship match after placing third. But in the playoff, Liz's team took a hard-earned victory over Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder, 25-23, 25-23. That set up a meeting in the finals against Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, but due to an injured shoulder, Walsh had to pull out and the prize went to Nicole and EY.

Then in Charleston the duo were seeded number one, the first-ever time for Nicole and first time for EY since the 2004 season. They backed up their seeding by winning all five matches en route to their first AVP title of the year. 

Branagh and Youngs Clinch Olympic Berth!

Nicole and EY clinched a spot in the Beijing Olympics following their silver medal performance in the Grand Slam in Moscow.  The medal was the seventh one for the tandem, who will now concentrate on the AVP Crocs Tour before heading to Beijing.  The medal also allowed them to move up to fifth in the Olympic qualification rankings, with 4,540 points.  The Beijing Games begins August 8th, 2008.  EY played in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics on the indoor team as well as took home the bronze medal for beach in the 2004 Athens Olympics, while Nicole will compete in her first Olympics.