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The preliminary round gauntlet will continue for the United States with a showdown against the defending Olympic gold medalists.
Check out all the Olympics indoor men’s volleyball matches to follow Thursday night and Friday morning and how to follow the matches live.
United States (1-1, 3 points Pool B) vs Brazil (2-1, 5 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 11:05 a.m. (9:05 p.m. CST Tuesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: United States (No. 5); Brazil (No. 1)
Olympic all-time series: United States leads 7-5
Olympic appearances: United States (1964, 1968, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Brazil (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: United States (1984 gold, 1988 gold, 1992 bronze, 2008 gold, 2016 bronze); Brazil (1984 silver, 1992 gold, 2004 gold, 2008 silver, 2012 silver, 2016 gold)
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 Brazil roster: None
What to know: A spot in the quarterfinals is up for the taking if the United States can knock off the defending gold medalists Brazil. The United States with two remaining preliminary round matches is in second place in Pool B and one win away from reaching the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive Olympics. Setter Micah Christenson leads the Olympics with 149 assists and has guided the U.S. offense to more than a .400 attack percentage in two of its first three preliminary round matches. Outside attacker Taylor Sander also is in the tournament’s top 10 with 40 kills, including having 14 kills on a .600 attack percentage in a four-game victory against Tunisia on Wednesday. Opposite Matt Anderson is among U.S. and tournament leaders with 35 kills. The former Penn State All-American has multiple 20-plus kill performances against Brazil throughout his international career. Anderson had a match-high 20 kills versus Brazil during the semifinals of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Finals en route to being named the most valuable player of that tournament. He also led all players with 23 kills on a .442 attack percentage to help the United States defeat Brazil during the preliminary round of the 2016 Olympics. Along with the U.S. pin-hitters, libero Erik Shoji is second at the Olympics with 25 digs and in the top 10 with 43 successful service receptions. Brazil enters this match in third place in Pool B after avoiding a near upset to beat Argentina in five games on Monday and then losing in three games to Russia on Wednesday. Brazil was limited to a .101 attack percentage and did not have a player with double-digit kills in the loss to first-place Russia. Despite the team’s recent offensive performance, middle attacker Lucas Saatkamp has a combined 21 kills on a .471 attack percentage through the first first three preliminary matches.
Canada (1-2, 4 points Pool B) vs. Venezuela (0-3, 0 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 9 a.m. (7 p.m. CST Tuesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Canada (No. 10); Venezuela (No. 33)
Olympic appearances: Canada (1976, 1984, 1992, 2016, 2020); Venezuela (2008, 2020)
Olympic medals: Canada (none); Venezuela (none)
NCAA players on Canada roster: None
NCAA players on Venezuela roster: None
Japan (2-1, 6 points Pool A) vs. Poland (2-1, 7 points Pool A)
Match vitals: 2:20 p.m. (12:20 a.m. CST Wednesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Japan (No. 11); Poland (No. 2)
Olympic appearances: Japan (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2008, 2020); Poland (1968, 1972 1976, 1980, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: Japan (1964 bronze, 1968 silver, 1972 gold); Poland (1976 gold)
NCAA players on Japan roster: None
NCAA players on Poland roster: None
Argentina (1-2, 3 points Pool B) vs. Tunisia (0-3, 0 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 4:25 p.m. (2:25 a.m. CST Wednesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Argentina (No. 8); Tunisia (No. 16)
Olympic appearances: Argentina (1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004 2012, 2016, 2020); Tunisia (1972, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2004, 2012, 2020)
Olympic medals: Argentina (1988 bronze); Tunisia (none)
NCAA players on Argentina roster: None
NCAA players on Tunisia roster: None
Italy (2-1, 5 points Pool A) vs. Iran (2-1, 5 points Pool A)
Match vitals: 7:40 p.m. (5:40 a.m. CST Wednesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Japan (No. 11); Italy (No. 9)
Olympic appearances: Japan (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2008, 2020); Italy (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: Japan (1964 bronze, 1968 silver, 1972 gold); Italy (1984 bronze, 1996 silver, 2000 bronze, 2004 silver, 2012 bronze, 2016 silver)
NCAA players on Japan roster: None
NCAA players on Italy roster: None
Russia (3-0, 9 points Pool B) vs. France (1-2, 4 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 9:45 p.m. (7:45 a.m. CST Wednesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Russia (No. 3); France (No. 5)
Olympic appearances: Russia (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); France (1988, 1992, 2004, 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); France (none)
NCAA players on Russia roster: None
NCAA players on France roster: Kevin Tillie (UC Irvine 2012-13)