Rogers, an 11-year veteran of professional beach volleyball, thought he needed someone to help him get to the next level and believed Dalhausser had the potential to become the best player in the world.

Dalhausser qualified for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics to represent the United States with his teammate Todd Rogers by being the top seeded American team through the international qualification process.

Dalhausser and Rogers won the gold medal match two sets to one against Márcio Araújo and Fabio Luiz Magalhães of Brazil.

Newly crowned women's beach volleyball champions and compatriots Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were watching from the stands in the final.

The pair was ousted in the round of 16 by the young Italian team of Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo, losing in straight sets for the first time in their Olympic careers.

Dalhausser paired up with Nick Lucena for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, winning their debut match against Tunisia in straight sets.

[8] At the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena made it into the quarterfinals match, where they played against Brazil's top-ranked team of 6-foot-8 Alison "The Mammoth" Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt.