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Check out the Olympics men’s volleyball bronze-medal match to follow today and how to follow the match live.
No. 1 seed Italy (4-1) vs. No. 2 seed United States (4-1)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. (10 a.m. EDT) in Paris
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (Peacock), TV (USA Network)
World rankings: United States (No. 6); Italy (No. 3)
How they reached the bronze-medal match: The United States after going undefeated in pool-play and beating Brazil in the quarterfinals lost to Poland in five games in the semifinals. Italy was the No. 1 overall seed after the pool-play stage and beat Japan in the quarterfinals but lost to the host-nation France in the semifinals.
Olympic all-time series: Italy leads 5-2
Last meeting in Olympics: Italy defeated the United States in the 2016 semifinals.
Last non-Olympics meeting: Italy swept the United States at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in June.
Olympic appearances: United States (1964, 1968, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020); Italy (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024)
Olympics bronze-medal match appearance: United States (1992, 2004, 2016, 2024); Italy (1984, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2024)
Olympics bronze-medal match record: United States (2-1); Italy (3-1)
Olympic medals: United States (1984 gold, 1988 gold, 1992 bronze, 2008 gold, 2016 bronze); Italy (1984 bronze, 1996 silver, 2000 bronze, 2004 silver, 2012 bronze, 2016 silver)
NCAA players on U.S. roster: Matt Anderson (Penn State 2006-08); Taylor Averill (Hawai’i 2012-15); Micah Christenson (USC 2012-15); TJ DeFalco (Long Beach 2016-19); Max Holt (Penn State 2006-09); Thomas Jaeschke (Loyola 2013-15); Jeff Jendryk (Loyola 2015-18); Micah Ma’a (UCLA 2016-19); Garrett Muagututia (UCLA 2007-10); Aaron Russell (Penn State (2012-15); David Smith (UC Irvine 2004-07); Erik Shoji (Stanford 2009-12)
NCAA players on Italy roster: None
What to know: The end of the road is likely here for this core group of U.S. players. It’s now only a matter of whether that end will be hoisting an Olympic bronze medal or being left off the medal podium. The United States after a semifinals loss to Poland in a decisive fifth game will now attempt to rebound in its Olympics finale as it faces Italy in the bronze-medal match. Former Penn State opposite Matt Anderson enters this medal match following a career Olympic performance in the semifinals. The four-time Olympian finished with a career-high 23 kills on a .459 attack percentage and had three combined attack errors through the first four games. Anderson now has at least 20 kills in two consecutive matches and is third in the tournament with 72 total kills. The United States also continues to be one of the top offenses at the Olympics. Former USC setter Micah Christenson has guided the offense to at least a .400 attack percentage in four of the five matches, including a .419 attack percentage in the semifinals. Italy is on a three-match Olympic winning streak against the United States and has not lost to the United States at the games since 2008. Pin-hitter Yuri Romano leads Italy and is fourth at the Olympics with 71 kills. Roman has double-digit kills in all five matches highlighted with 16 kills as Italy rallied from a two-game deficit to beat Japan in the quarterfinals.