The United States was beaten by Poland in the men's volleyball semifinals on Wednesday, falling in five sets. Although the loss ruined Team USA's chances of winning their first gold medal since 2008, the U.S. still has a chance to compete for a bronze medal.
The U.S. lost the first set to Poland 23-25, but took the second 27-25. After a dominant 25-14 third set for the Americans, Poland won the fourth set 25-23 again to force a fifth, and then won 15-13.
Matt Anderson and Aaron Russell, who were both on the United States' bronze medal-winning team in Rio in 2016, led the U.S. with 24 and 20 points, respectively. Poland's Wilfredo Leon Venero led his team with 26 points, with the second-leading scorer, Norbert Huber, scoring 15.
Poland, one of the best men's volleyball teams in the world, last won an Olympic gold medal in 1976, its only Olympic medal to date. Poland is guaranteed a gold or a silver in Saturday's final, which will be its best result in 50 years regardless of the final score. Poland will face the winner of the Italy-France semifinal.
Team USA men's volleyball has had mixed results at the Olympics: Despite winning golds in 1984, 1988 and 2008 — and a pair of bronzes in 1992 and 2016 — the Americans don't consistently make it this far. Last Olympics, in Tokyo, the team finished in 10th place.
Team USA will now play Italy, who lost to France in straight sets, in the bronze medal match on Friday. If the U.S. wins, they will earn their sixth-ever Olympic medal.
Reaching the Semifinals
The U.S. Men's National Team secured its spot in the Paris semifinals with a thrilling 3-1 (26-24, 28-30, 25-19, 25-19) win over its greatest rival, Brazil, in Monday’s quarterfinal match. The meeting was the 14th between the teams in the Olympics and was their first major competition meetup since the qualifying round in Tokyo.
The U.S. earned its seventh trip to the Olympic semifinals, while denying Brazil a sixth consecutive semifinal berth. Both teams have won three gold medals. Earlier in the day, top-seeded Italy fought off six match points and completed a reverse sweep against Japan, while host and defending gold medalists France also completed a reverse sweep, rallying to defeat Germany. The U.S. will face Poland in the semifinals on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Like the U.S., Poland won its quarterfinal match against Slovenia by winning the first set, dropping the second set, and taking the final two sets.
“It’s a big deal to be back in this situation as I’ve wanted for these guys,” Head Coach John Speraw said. “They’ve been here before and for them to have another opportunity at this medal moment in the semifinals of an Olympic Games is a really special opportunity not very many people get.”
Anderson's Performance
Opposite Matt Anderson played an extraordinary match, hitting at a .536 efficiency percentage with a match-high 17 kills and just two errors in 28 attacks. He also led all players with 20 points and shared top honors with three blocks. Anderson added 10 successful receptions and five digs.
“I always feel like I have to be at my best. That’s the way our team runs and the way that I operate, to give everything I have whether that’s me serving, playing defense, or passing. The guys really helped me today. It kept me positive” Anderson said.
He spoke highly of the Brazilian National Team, a familiar Olympic opponent. “It’s a huge match. We have played against Brazil for many years, and they are always a great foe in a good and amicable way. We can go out there and put everything we have into the match and there’s no malice afterwards as we are giving hugs. We authentically want everybody to be well after these matches. It was a great fight,” he commented.
A Team Effort
Setter and captain Micah Christenson guided the offense to a .395 hitting percentage against one of the most physical teams in the world, while contributing four points on three kills and an ace, and finishing with six digs.
“I’m really proud of our patience and resilience,” Christenson said. “We talked about that. Javier Weber (U.S. Men’s Assistant Coach), who’s worked with Brazil for so long, he knows how powerful they are both from service and attack. We just knew we had to be patient.”
The U.S. held narrow advantages in blocks (8-7) and service aces (4-3) with both teams scoring 26 points on opponent errors. The difference in the match was a double-digit margin in kills, 66-56.
Middle blocker Max Holt continued his outstanding play in Paris with 13 points on nine kills, two blocks, and two aces. He hit at a .692 clip with nine kills without an error in 13 attacks. Outside hitter T.J. DeFalco scored 16 points on 15 kills and a block and fellow outside Aaron Russell added 11 kills. DeFalco contributed 11 digs and six successful receptions with Russell adding nine successful receptions.
Middle Taylor Averill finished strong with five of his six kills coming in the final set along with two massive blocks as he scored four of the team’s final seven points. Outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke played a key role off the bench with five kills. Libero Erik Shoji recorded another double-double with 14 digs and 13 successful receptions.
A Look Back at the Match
Brazil started the match serving strongly, delivering an ace for a 6-3 lead and keeping the U.S. out of rhythm on offense with its serve during a 4-0 run that extended the lead to five points, 11-6. Miscommunication on a second ball led to a U.S. hitting error that made it 13-8. The U.S. came out of their second timeout strong with a 3-0 run, which included a Holt kill in transition.
Brazil forged ahead 16-13, but a service error, hitting error, and net violation tied the set. A block gave Brazil a two-point lead, 19-17. A great pass by Shoji led to a DeFalco kill and Averill followed with an ace to square the set at 19. Brazil again responded with a pair of kills to regain a two-point advantage. Russell scored to cut the deficit to a point, an Anderson block tied the set, and a Christenson ace put the U.S. ahead 22-21. With the score tied at 23, Holt scored on a kill off the Brazilian block.
With the score tied 24-24, DeFalco delivered a kill to give the U.S. its second set point. Great hustle by DeFalco and Shoji gave Russell a swing from the back row for the set. The ball was called out, but the U.S. successfully challenged a block touch to take the set, finishing on a 13-8 run. DeFalco led the way with five kills, Anderson scored four points on three kills and a block, and Russell and Holt each contributed three points.
The second set started with a kill on a swing by Christenson and the U.S. jumped out to a 7-3 lead, keyed by a Holt ace and a DeFalco block. With the score 10-7, Holt extended the lead to four and Anderson scored on an overpass to extend the lead to five points. After Brazil scored, Russell made a one-handed stab on the serve and got back up to score. Anderson followed with a block and Brazil took a timeout, trailing 14-8.
Brazil cut the lead to four points, 16-12, on a block, but DeFalco downed a ball. On the next play, a great play by Shoji led to a Russell kill and a six-point advantage, 18-12. Brazil charged back by scoring the next three points and leading to a U.S. timeout. Russell scored the first point back for a 19-15 lead. With the score 19-16, Russell played a ball off the block and scrambled to avoid being hit by it and then Hold went high and deep for a kill and a five-point lead, 21-16.
From there, Brazil went on a 5-1 to pull within a point, 22-21. Thanks to a second consecutive service error, the U.S. had two set points at 24-22, bur Brazil recorded back-to-back kills off the block. Another service error gave the U.S. its third set point, but Brazil scored two points to earn its first set point opportunity at 26-25. DeFalco and Russell each scored to fight off Brazilian set points. Down 28-27, the U.S. kept the set going on a brilliant one-handed set by Christenson to Holt. Brazil finally won the set an evened the match on a service error and hitting error. Russell led the U.S. with six kills, Anderson and Holt each scored five points, and DeFalco added four points.
A successful block touch challenge and two unforced Brazil errors helped give the U.S. an early 7-4 lead in the third set. After yielding a point, the U.S. scored on a bullet kill from DeFalco and an Anderson block to take a four-point lead, 9-5. A Brazilian service error and a Holt throw down kill extended the lead to six points, 15-9 and caused Brazil to use its final timeout of the set.
Brazil came back to score the next three points to cut the lead in half and lead to the first U.S. timeout. Still clinging to a three-point lead, 18-15, the U.S. upped its advantage to five points on back-to-back kills by Anderson with the first coming off a set against the flow from Christenson and the second on a block.
For the second set in a row, the U.S. led 21-16, but they finished the set strong with another kill from Anderson, his 12th of the match, and a Christenson kill helping the U.S. to a 24-18 lead. After Brazil fought off one set point, a Holt kill put the U.S. ahead two sets to one. Anderson led all players with six points in the set on five kills and a block. DeFalco registered four kills with Christenson adding a pair of kills.
Brazil scored four of the first five points in the fourth set, but the U.S. scored four consecutive points with an Averill kill tying the set 4-4 and Anderson putting the U.S. ahead. The lead never reached more than one point again until back-to-back Anderson kills gave the U.S. a 12-10 lead, but Brazil scored the next two points to tie the set again.
With the U.S. holding a slim one-point lead, 17-16, a Brazil service error started a 4-1 U.S. run. An Averill stuff block made it 19-16, Holt followed with an ace, and Averill recorded his fourth kill in his last four attempts to push the lead to four, 21-17. Brazil continued to battle back, and a block cut the lead back to two points, 21-19.
The U.S. was finally able to dispatch their longtime rivals with a match-ending 4-0 run. Jaeschke recorded his fifth kill of the match on a back row combination and Anderson collected his 17th kill off a great dig from Shoji and set from Christenson for a 23-19 lead. Averill finished the match with another block and kill to send the U.S. to the semifinal round. Averill led all players in the set with seven points on five kills and two blocks. Anderson had five more kills, Holt scored four points on three kills and an ace, and DeFalco and Jaeschke each added three kills.
What's Next for the US Men's Team
Team USA will now play Italy in the bronze medal match on Friday. If the U.S. wins, they will earn their sixth-ever Olympic medal.
The US men's volleyball team's performance in the Paris Olympics has been a rollercoaster. While they fell short of their gold medal hopes, their resilience and determination have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with. With a chance to earn a bronze medal, the team is ready to fight for a podium finish.
