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Four teams remain and are all vying for a spot in the Olympics men’s volleyball gold-medal match.
Check out all the Olympics indoor men’s volleyball semifinal matches to follow Wednesday night and Thursday morning and how to follow the matches live.
Brazil (5-1) vs. Russia (5-1)
Match vitals: 1 p.m. (11 p.m. CST Wednesday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: Brazil (No. 1); Russia (No. 3)
Olympic appearances: Brazil (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Russia (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic semifinal appearances: Brazil (1984, 1988, 1992, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Russia (1976, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic medals: Brazil (1984 silver, 1992 gold, 2004 gold, 2008 silver, 2012 silver, 2016 gold); Russia (1964 gold, 1968 gold, 1972 bronze, 1976 silver, 1980 gold, 1988 silver, 2000 silver, 2004 bronze, 2008 bronze, 2012 gold)
NCAA players on Brazil roster: None
NCAA players on Russia roster: None
What to know: The countries that have won the last two Olympic gold medals will now meet for a spot in the gold-medal match. Both Russia and Brazil remained in medal contention with sweeps in the quarterfinals. The Pool B champions Russia finished with a .398 attack percentage in its sweep against Canada and continued its streak of reaching the semifinals in every Olympics since 1996. Outside attacker Dmitry Volkov finished with both a team-high three aces and 12 kills on a .348 attack percentage. The defending gold medalists Brazil hit .458 in its quarterfinals sweep versus the host nation Japan with outside attacker Yoandy Leal having a match-high 15 kills on a .591 attack percentage. Leal and Russian opposite Maksim Mikhaylov are both among the tournament leaders with 72 kills and hitting more than .400 so far in the tournament. Mikhaylov also led all players with 14 kills in Russia’s sweep against Brazil during the preliminary round. Russia in that victory out-blocked Brazil 12 to 6 and held Brazil to a tournament-low .101 attack percentage.
France (3-3) vs. Argentina (4-2)
Match vitals: 9 p.m. (7 a.m. CST Thursday) in Tokyo, Japan
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World rankings: France (No. 5); Argentina (No. 8)
Olympic appearances: France (1988, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2020); Argentina (1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004 2012, 2016, 2020)
Olympic semifinal appearances: France (none); Argentina (1988, 2000)
Olympic medals: France (none); Argentina (1988 bronze)
NCAA players on France roster: Kevin Tillie (UC Irvine 2012-13)
NCAA players on Argentina roster: None
What to know: The upset run for Argentina in the Olympics started with a victory against France, and now the two teams will face each other again in the semifinals. Argentina overcame an 0-2 start to the Olympics and defeated France in five games to jumpstart a four-match winning streak. That winning streak included sweeping the United States in a de facto elimination match to make the quarterfinals. Argentina also added another upset with a five-game victory against Italy in the quarterfinals. Setter Luciano de Cecco guided the offense to a .331 attack percentage and three Argentina pin-hitters in the win had double-digit kills, including outside attacker Ezequiel Palacios who had 14 kills while hitting .500. Opposite Bruno Lima also had 12 kills versus Italy and enters the semifinals leading the tournament with 100 kills. France despite having a losing record in the preliminary round upset the No. 1 seed Poland in five games to reach the semifinals for the first time in the nation’s history. Opposite Jean Party finished with a team-high 19 kills on a .529 attack percentage against Poland. Party leads France and is fifth in the Olympics with 92 kills, including having 17 kills in a five-game loss to Argentina during the preliminary round.