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The FIVB World Championship started for the United States with a match against Serbia and it will now end with a match against Serbia — this time, though, it’s for a medal.
The United States following a five-game semifinal loss will play Serbia in the bronze-medal match. Check out all the FIVB World Championship medal matches to follow today and how to follow them live.
Bronze-medal match
United States (9-2) vs. Serbia (7-4)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. (10 a.m. CDT) in Torino, Italy
Follow live: Live stats, Pay-per-view online video, In-match tweets
Recent meeting: United States defeated Serbia in five games in its FIVB World Championship first-round opener.
FIVB World Championship bronze medals: United States (1994); Serbia (2010)
NCAA players on U.S. roster: Matt Anderson (Penn State 2006-08); Taylor Averill (Hawai’i 2012-15); Micah Christenson (USC 2012-15); Max Holt (Penn State 2006-09); Jeff Jendryk (Loyola 2015-18); Jake Langlois (BYU 2014-17); Dan McDonnell (UC Irvine 2011-12); Ben Patch (BYU 2013, 2016-17); Aaron Russell (Penn State 2012-15); Taylor Sander (BYU 2011-14); Kawika Shoji (Stanford 2007-10); Erik Shoji (Stanford 2009-12); David Smith (UC Irvine 2004-07); Dustin Watten (Long Beach State 2005-09)
NCAA players on Serbia roster: None
U.S. player to watch: Setter Micah Christenson is leading the tournament with a 6.83 excellent sets per game average and is the only player averaging more than 5.75. He also guided an offense that featured three U.S. players finishing with double-digit kills in the team’s first-round win against Serbia.
Serbian player to watch: Srecko Lisinac is in the tournament’s top 10 with a 0.41 blocks per game average, including having a match-high five blocks in the loss to the United States.
Gold-medal match
Brazil (10-1) vs. Poland (9-2)
Match vitals: 9:15 p.m. (2:15 p.m. CDT) in Torino, Italy
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
FIVB World Championship titles: Brazil (2010, 2006, 2002); Poland (2014, 1974)
FIVB World Championship gold-medal match appearances: Brazil (2014, 2010, 2006, 2002, 1982); Poland (2014, 2006, 1974)
Brazilian player to watch: Wallace De Souza has a tournament-best 131 kills, while also being in the top 10 at the FIVB World Championship with a 52.82 percent offensive efficiency.
Polish player to watch: Bartosz Kurek had both a match-high 24 kills and five blocks in the semifinals to help Poland rally from a one-game deficit and beat the United States in five games.