On paper this was as good of a semifinal matchup as anyone could ask for at the Olympic Games.
Two continental rivals, one the host and defending Olympic champion, the other the top seed in the knockout rounds, facing off for a spot in the gold medal match.
Unfortunately, it did not live up to the billing as France steamrolled right through the six-time Olympic medalists, Italy, and into its second consecutive Olympic finals. An electric home crowd rallied behind its team and pushed them right past the Italians in straight sets.
France now has a shot on home soil to become the first country since the United States in 1984 and 1988 to win back-to-back gold medals in men’s volleyball.
Set 1 — France 25, Italy 20
The first set was as tight as one could have imagined with these two juggernauts facing off. France took an early 4-2 lead, the last time these teams would be separated by more than a point until France took a 16-4 lead. France’s Earvin Ngapeth, who has had a very up-and-down tournament, got off to a fast start with seven points on 6/11 swings.
France took over late in the set behind Ngapeth and Barthelemy Chinenyeze, who was a perfect 4/4 attacking through the middle, and the French crowd started fueling their team to a six-point lead. With France on set point, the crowd went bananas as Trevor Clevenot rose up and floored a giant spike to take the first set 25-20.
Set 2 — France 25, Italy 21
Set two was nearly a mirror image of the first with barely anything between the two teams through the middle part of the set. Italy opened up a bit of a lead at 16-13, but France closed that quick then flipped the script and pulled away. France closed with three straight points and it was Clevenot who came through again to finish it off with a kill.
If the first set was about Ngapeth, the second was about Clevenot as he just took over. He scored seven points on 7/10 swings that got the home crowd rocking.
Set 3 — France 25, Italy 21
At this point, it looked like France would cruise home behind another incredible crowd rooting them on and that is exactly what happened. France simply had too much momentum and kept it rolling into a third set where it opened up a big advantage in the middle stages.
Italy had no answers for France’s offense and never got anything going in their own attack. Italy’s star player, Alessandro Michieletto, who was fantastic throughout the tournament, was held in check with just seven points on 2/13 swings. Yuri Romano led the Italians with 10 points on the night.
The loss leaves Italy still in search of its first ever Olympic gold meal in men’s volleyball. The Italians will now head to the bronze medal match and face the United States.
With a win, Italy would become the first nation to ever win seven medals in men’s Olympic volleyball, while a win would make the United States the fourth country with six. That match is Friday at 10 a.m. ET.
France heads to the gold medal match where it will meet the top-ranked team in the world, Poland, which is seeking its first medal since 1976. The curtain will drop on men’s volleyball at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Saturday at 7 a.m. ET.
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