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The only remaining undefeated team at the FIVB World Championship will have a chance to clinch a berth into the semifinals.
The United States will play Russia with not only a chance in its third-round opener to advance to the next round but eliminate the Russians from medal contention. Check out all the FIVB World Championship third-round matches to follow today and how to follow them live.
Pool H matches
United States (8-0, 0-0 Pool I, 0 points) vs. Russia (6-3, 0-1 Pool I, 1 point)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. (10 a.m. CDT) in Torino, Italy
Follow live: Live stats, Pay-per-view online video, In-match tweets
Previous meetings at FIVB World Championship: The United States beat Russia in four games in the opening round
FIVB World Championship titles: United States (1986); Russia (1982, 1978, 1962, 1960, 1952, 1949)
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 Russian roster: None
U.S. player to watch: Aaron Russell is among the three U.S. players leading the tournament with more than a 56 percent offensive efficiency and had a match-high 16 kills to help the United States beat Russia in the opening round.
Russian player to watch: Dmitry Volkov finished with both a match-high 19 kills and three aces as Russia blew a two-game lead in a third-round opening loss to Brazil on Wednesday. He also is in the tournament’s top 15 with a 53.7 percent offensive efficiency.
Pool I matches
Poland (6-2, 0-0 Pool J, 0 points) vs. Serbia (7-2, 1-0 Pool J, 3 points)
Match vitals: 8:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. CDT) in Torino, Italy
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
Previous meetings at FIVB World Championship: Poland swept Serbia in its second-round finale on Sunday
FIVB World Championship titles: Poland (2014, 1974); Serbia (none)
NCAA players on Poland roster: None
NCAA players on Serbia roster: None
Polish player to watch: Bartosz Kurek finished with both a match-high 14 kills and five aces as Poland swept Serbia on Sunday to clinch the final berth to the third round.
Serbia player to watch: Aleksandar Atanasijevic had a match-high 16 kills and three blocks as Poland swept Italy on Wednesday to move within one more point of being assured a semifinals berth. He also is one kill away from becoming the ninth player at the tournament with at least 100 kills.