If Nikola Grbic watched the American-Brazilian match, he could smile quite broadly for the first two sets. Both teams struggled a lot on the court and played clearly below their highest level. He improved later, but neither team left the best impression on Monday in Paris. And that's good news for the Poles, who were waiting for this match to determine their rival for the Olympic semi-final.
The Brazilians started confidently, but were surprised
The Brazilians started the match quite confidently. After an even start to the first set, they trailed the Americans by as many as five points (6:11, then 8:13). It seemed that they had the situation under control. Later, even when the USA evened the score (17:17 and 19:19), they kept gaining a two-point advantage (17:19 and 19:21). However, in the end, everything turned around.
Brazil stopped taking advantage of their chances, but they were surprised by the Americans, who gained a minimal advantage. This allowed them to take the first set ball (24:23). They did not manage to use it yet, but Aaron Russell converted the second set ball into the decisive win at the beginning of the match. All thanks to the challenge, which coach John Speraw asked for. Russell hit from the sixth zone on a situational ball after excellent defense by Erik Shoji and beat the Brazilian block, which the referee did not notice at first. It ended 26:24 for the USA.
The Brazilians snatched the second set. Russell missed a key ball this time
Already during the first set, Alan Souza returned to the game after an injury, having been missing during matches group stage. He came out in the starting lineup for the second game and one could wonder whether his presence on the pitch would change anything. Unfortunately for the Brazilians, he did not give more than Darlan, who was weak from the first points. The playmaker also looked bad Bruno Rezendewho was unable to lead his team to better play.
The Americans quickly realized the situation and started the set with a four-point lead (7:3). With the worse gr± The Brazilians' advantage over the USA only grew – the difference was six points (14:8, then 18:12). After a slightly better moment in this set, the players of coach Bernardo Rezende reduced it a bit (19:15) and tried to fight until the end. And it paid off – first the Canarinhos reached two points (21:19), and a moment later one point (22:21) after a service ace by Ricardo Lucarelli. The Americans gained two set points (24:22) after their opponents' mistakes on serve, but they did not use any of them. This was only the beginning of the fight that was to decide who would win this set.
During the power play, the USA had another chance (25:24) to close the set, but the third set ball didn't bring a favorable decision for them either. Then Brazil gained their next four set points. They wasted the first three, but on the fourth they made a mistake that had previously given the Americans the win in the first set. Aaron Russell this time threw the ball out. The Brazilians snatched it and won 30:28.
The Americans put the Brazilians against the wall. They had no margin for error anymore
After the break, the Americans regained control of the match. The Brazilians led in the third set by only one point – when the score was 3:4. After that, John Speraw's players did not give the South American team many chances. They built a five-point lead (13:8). A moment later, Brazil made up three points (15:12) and for a moment it seemed that they could still threaten their opponents (18:15).
The end belonged to the USA. They increased their advantage to six points again (24:18) and thus gained six chances to end the third set. They succeeded on the second occasion – after several defenses by their opponents, Taylor Averill made good use of his chance from the middle. The result of 25:19 gave them a 2:1 lead in the match. And put the Brazilians against the wall, who had no margin for error if they wanted to stay in this match and continue fighting for promotion to the semi-finals.
The Americans didn't even let Brazil have a chance. Averill finished the match
However, the Americans didn't even let them do that. The Brazilians were the first to lead, even by four points (1:4), but then they were only able to keep up with the USA. Although most of the fourth set was played point for point, the Americans were slightly ahead in this even fight.
The series from 17:16 to 20:16 proved crucial for them. Then John Speraw's players gained an advantage that allowed them to win later. At one point, the Brazilians reduced it by two more points (21:19), but the next four points belonged to the Americans. Taylor Averill's last effective attack ended the set with a score of 25:19 and the match with a score of 3:1.
Poland – USA in the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics. Brazil with the worst result in 24 years
This decision means that the Brazilians will be eliminated from the competition in the Games for the earliest in 24 years. This is their worst result in the Olympic tournament since the one in Sydney, where they also finished in the quarterfinals. After that, they played in the finals four times in a row, which they won twice – in Athens and Rio de Janeiro. Three years ago in Tokyo they lost in the semi-final and did not win the bronze medal, which was won by the Argentines.
For the Americans, however, it is a huge improvement after the disaster of three years ago, when they failed to advance from the group stage at the Tokyo Games. Now, they face the semifinals with the Poles – another such key match with this team in the play-off phase of a major event in recent years. In final The 2023 Nations League, the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals and the 2018 World Cup semifinals were won by Polish volleyball players and let's hope it will be the same this time. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, August 7 at 4:00 p.m.