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The wait is finally over and the Olympics men’s volleyball tournament is set to get underway.
Check out all the indoor men’s volleyball matches to follow Friday night and Saturday morning and how to follow the matches live.
United States (0-0 Pool B) vs. France (0-0 Pool B)
Match vitals: 9:45 p.m. (7:45 a.m. CST Saturday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: United States (No. 5); France (No. 4)
Olympic all-time series: United States leads 3-0
Olympic appearances: United States (1964, 1968, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); France (1988, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: United States (1984 gold, 1988 gold, 1992 bronze, 2008 gold, 2016 bronze); France (none)
NCAA players on U.S. roster: Matt Anderson (Penn State 2006-08); Micah Christenson (USC 2012-15); TJ DeFalco (Long Beach State 2016-19); Kyle Ensing (Long Beach State 2016-19); Max Holt (Penn State 2006-09); Thomas Jaeschke (Loyola 2013-15); Garrett Muagututia (UCLA 2007-10); Taylor Sander (BYU 2011-14); Erik Shoji (Stanford 2009-12); Kawika Shoji (Stanford 2007-10); David Smith (UC Irvine 2004-07); Mitch Stahl (UCLA 2014-17)
NCAA players on France roster: Kevin Tillie (UC Irvine 2012-13)
What to know: The preliminary round gauntlet for the United States starts with France. This tournament opener will be the first of three preliminary round matches for both the United States and France against teams in the top five of the world rankings. Four of the five top-ranked teams in the world have all been placed in Pool B for the preliminary round. The top four teams in the six-team pool at the end of the preliminary stage round-robin will advance to the quarterfinals. The United States enters the Olympics after finishing in seventh place at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in June. The defending Olympic bronze medalists opted not to play all of its projected starting lineup for the majority of this summer tournament — the team’s first international event since medaling at the 2019 FIVB World Cup. Outside attacker TJ DeFalco led the United States with 126 kills at the Volleyball Nations League, including a team-high 19 kills in a four-game loss to France. DeFalco is one of four players on the U.S. roster making their Olympics debut. Among the projected U.S. starters not playing in the most recent meeting against France included pin-hitter Matt Anderson, who is appearing in his third Olympics and was named the most valuable player at the 2019 Volleyball Nations League Finals. France won the bronze medal at the recent Volleyball Nations League and returns to the Olympics after failing to advance beyond the preliminary round in 2016. Outside attacker Earvin Ngapeth highlights several of the returning Olympians for France. Ngapeth at the 2016 Games led France with 64 kills with 19 of those kills coming in a loss to the United States.
Italy (0-0 Pool A) vs. Canada (0-0 Pool A)
Match vitals: 9 a.m. (7 p.m. CST Friday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Italy (No. 9); Canada (No. 10)
Olympic appearances: Italy (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Canada (1976, 1984, 1992, 2016)
Olympic medals: Italy (1984 bronze, 1996 silver, 2000 bronze, 2004 silver, 2012 bronze, 2016 silver); Canada (none)
NCAA players on Italy roster: None
NCAA players on Canada roster: None
Brazil (0-0 Pool B) vs. Tunisia (0-0 Pool B)
Match vitals: 11:05 a.m. (9:05 p.m. CST Friday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Brazil (No. 1); Tunisia (No. 16)
Olympic appearances: Brazil (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Tunisia (1972, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2004, 2012, 2020)
Olympic medals: Brazil (1984 silver, 1992 gold, 2004 gold, 2008 silver, 2012 silver, 2016 gold); Tunisia (none)
NCAA players on Brazil roster: None
NCAA players on Tunisia roster: None
Russia (0-0 Pool B) vs. Argentina (0-0 Pool B)
Match vitals: 2:20 p.m. (12:20 a.m. CST Saturday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Russia (No. 3); Argentina (No. 8)
Olympic appearances: Russia (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Argentina (1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: Russia (1964 gold, 1968 gold, 1972 bronze, 1976 silver, 1980 gold, 1988 silver, 2000 silver, 2004 bronze, 2008 bronze, 2012 gold); Argentina (1988 bronze)
NCAA players on Russia roster: None
NCAA players on Argentina roster: None
Japan (0-0 Pool A) vs. Venezuela (0-0 Pool A)
Match vitals: 4:25 p.m. (2:25 a.m. CST Saturday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Japan (No. 11); Venezuela (No. 33)
Olympic appearances: Japan (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2008, 2020); Venezuela (2008, 2020)
Olympic medals: Japan (1964 bronze, 1968 silver, 1972 gold); Venezuela (none)
NCAA players on Japan roster: None
NCAA players on Venezuela roster: None
Poland (0-0 Pool A) vs. Iran (0-0 Pool A)
Match vitals: 7:40 p.m. (5:40 a.m. CST Saturday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Poland (No. 2); Iran (No. 12)
Olympic appearances: Poland (1968, 1972 1976, 1980, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Iran (2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: Poland (1976 gold); Iran (none)
NCAA players on Poland roster: None
NCAA players on Iran roster: None