This was the Olympic final that dreams are made of: defending champion against the top-ranked team in the world.
The defending champion United States was guaranteed its seventh all-time medal coming in, entering a tie with the Soviet Union for the most all time.
Top-ranked Italy was guaranteed its first ever medal, and was hoping to start their count with a gold that would cement it as the current power in women’s international volleyball.
The Italians did just that. They left no doubt about who the best team in the world is right now, rolling the United States in straight sets on their way to the gold.
The Americans have been fantastic this tournament, but the Italians were just better. They took everything that has made the United States successful away and used their high-powered offense to run away from the Americans.
The Italians dropped their first set of the tournament, then never dropped another, winning 15 straight on the way to gold.
Set 1 — Italy 25, USA 18
Italy got off to a fast start behind superstar Paola Egonu and took a 6-1 lead out of the gate. That put the Italians in control of the set right away and they never relented.
The Italian defense was swarming, keeping U.S. swings from hitting the floor and making life incredibly difficult at the net. Italy blocked four shots in the first set, while the Americans did not block any.
The defense was great, but Egonu was the story. She put up 11 points in the first set on a dominant 8/15 swings and three blocks. The U.S. was never going to have success if Egonu was dominating like that, and they got rolled because of it on the way to a 25-18 first-set loss.
Set 2 — Italy 25, United States 20
Italy kept it rolling right into another dominant set win in the second. Instead of running everything through Egonu, this time the Italians spread the scoring and left the United States with no answers.
The set was close when Italy opened up a 12-9 advantage and it started slipping away from the United States. From there, Italy dominated the rest of the set and cruised home to an easy win.
The United States was now up against it, facing a third loss in the gold medal match in the last five Olympic Games. The Italians looked comfortable and like they had complete control of the match.
It was going to take everything the Americans had to dig themselves out of this hole.
Set 3 — Italy 25, United States 17
On this night, the Americans just did not have enough and Italy had too much.
As dominant as the Italians were in the first two sets, they turned it up another notch in the third. They left the United States no room to breathe and never gave them even a sniff at a comeback.
The dominant win asserts Italy as the world’s power in women’s volleyball right now. After winning the 2024 Volleyball Nations League and securing the No. 1 ranking, the Italians have grabbed the ultimate crowning achievement.
The gold is the country’s first in volleyball, men’s or women’s. Despite the men having six Olympic medals, they have never climbed the mountain top the way the women just did.
The Italian women had never been past the quarterfinal at the Olympic Games, and in the first time of trying, they are now the Olympic Champions.
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