The bronze medal match was not where the United States wanted to be up two sets to one and leading in the fourth against Poland. At that point, a spot in the final seemed all but guaranteed. Then it all came apart, and the U.S. suffered a heartbreaking loss that relegated it to the bronze medal match.
Italy was looking to become the first country to win seven medals in men’s volleyball, once again falling short of an elusive first gold medal. If the United States could get past Italy, it would tie the Italians along with Brazil and the Soviet Union at six for the most medals by any country in Olympic men’s volleyball history.
Even though a gold was not up for grabs, there was still plenty to play for between these two powerhouses and they played like it. The match was as tight as a three-set win could possibly be, but the U.S. held off Italy to take the bronze.
After getting benched in the semifinal, Torey DeFalco was the hero in this one for Team USA. He killed off all three sets with big swings, including the swing that gave the U.S. the bronze medal with his 12th point of the night.
The U.S. ends its redemption campaign with a medal in hand, but not the one it wanted. Despite missing out on gold, Micah Christenson told NBC after the game the bronze means everything to the team, which is likely about to go through a huge period of transition.
Before focusing on what is ahead, they get to celebrate the expected end of this era with a historic sixth medal.
Set 1 — USA 25, Italy 23
If either country’s fanbase was worried about the teams coming out motivated in a bronze medal match, that went away early. Both teams came out with energy in a first set that was tight as it can possibly be.
The sides were never separated by more than two points, and rarely ever more than one. Back-and-forth they went until the U.S. found the advantage late and DeFalco came through with a kill to win the set.
The 27-year-old DeFalco was benched in the semifinal after struggling mightily to find his swing. He struggled again early in this one, going just 2/9 in the first set, but those two kills bookended the set to give the United States the early advantage.
Set 2 — USA 30, Italy 28
After a first set in which both teams hit just .200, had seven combined blocks and 28 combined digs, the defensive battle continued into the second set.
Once again there was barely anything to separate the teams, as the United States took the first three-point lead of the match by either team at 19-16. Italy responded and got it tied back at 20, then held set point twice. The United States survived both times, and held four set points of its own before finally killing the set off at 30-28.
DeFalco started looking more like himself in the second set, scoring six points on 6/13 swings, and once again finished off a set with a big swing from the outside.
Against a tough Italian defense, going down the middle was the best course of attack for the United States. Middles Taylor Averill and Max Holt were the most efficient attackers for the U.S. through two. Holt had five kills on an .833 hitting percentage and added two blocks, while Averill also had five kills on a .667 hitting percentage with a block.
Set 3 — USA 26, Italy 24
While the first two sets were as close as could be, the third set was anything but that.
The U.S. opened up a 7-2 lead out of the gate and it felt like the Italians were quickly falling out of it. The end of the second set seemed to be their last punch, especially when the U.S. held its biggest lead at 11-5.
Except Italy had one more in them, using a 9-3 run to tie it up at 14. From there the teams were locked
Looking ahead for Team USA
The match marks the end of an era for USA men’s volleyball. Head coach, John Speraw, said he expects a number of players will not be back at the next Olympics including names like Matt Anderson, Micah Christenson and Aaron Russell. All three were there the last time the U.S. won bronze in Rio 2016, and Anderson was on the team in London 2012.
Anderson told NBC after the game he will not be retiring now, but did not mention plans for the next Olympics.
The turnover is expected to be massive heading into a home Olympic in Los Angeles, when the men will be looking to get back on the podium once again in front of their home crowd.
The last time the U.S. played Olympic volleyball in Los Angeles they won the first of back-to-back gold medals. The goal will be for history to repeat itself in four years time.
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