Off the Block placed the 10 previous U.S. Men’s Volleyball Olympic Teams in a bracket and now it’s up to you to determine what was the all-time best United States team to compete at the Olympics.
The Off the Block Best of U.S. Men’s Volleyball at the Games is a bracket-style tournament pairing former United States men’s volleyball teams against each other with the winner being determined through online voting. The four-round event concludes with the championship match between two gold medalists — the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.
Online voting for the finals will end at 10 p.m. (CST) Tuesday. A voter is allowed to vote in each poll one time per hour until the polls close.
Check out the matches on the ballots today and the complete tournament bracket below. Vote for the team in each match-up that you think was the best and deserves to advance to the next round. In addition, to learn more about all 10 of the previous United States teams to compete in the men’s volleyball Olympic tournament, click here.
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1988 U.S. MEN’S VOLLEYBALL OLYMPIC TEAM
Olympic site: Seoul, South Korea
Place: 1st (gold medal)
Record: 7-0
Notable players on U.S. roster: Craig Buck, Bob Ctvrtlik, Scott Fortune, Karch Kiraly, Ricci Luyties, Eric Sato, Jeff Stork, Troy Tanner, Steve Timmons
Head coach: Marv Dunphy
How it qualified for Olympics: Automatic bid as defending gold medalists
Olympic recap: The United States not only repeated as gold medalists but became the first U.S. men’s volleyball team to go undefeated in the Olympic tournament. Karch Kiraly was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Steve Timmons earned Best Blocker honors after the United States beat the Soviet Union to capture the gold medal. The United States in the gold-medal match rallied for the victory after losing the opening game — the fourth game it lost during the entire tournament. It also held the Soviet Union to a combined 22 points in final three games of its four-game win.
2008 U.S. MEN’S VOLLEYBALL OLYMPIC TEAM
Olympic site: Beijing, China
Place: 1st (gold medal)
Record: 8-0
Notable players on U.S. roster: Lloy Ball, Tom Hoff, David Lee, Rich Lambourne, Ryan Millar, Reid Priddy, Sean Rooney, Riley Salmon, Clay Stanley
Head coach: Hugh McCutcheon
How it qualified for Olympics: Won NORCECA qualifying tournament
Olympic recap: The 16-year medal drought ended for the United States as it went undefeated in the Olympic tournament to capture the nation’s third men’s volleyball gold medal. The United States won three of its eight Olympic matches in a decisive fifth game, including a win against Serbia in the quarterfinals and a win versus Russia in the semifinals. Clay Stanley also had a match-high 15 kills as the United States defeated the defending-champions Brazil in the gold-medal match. Stanley would also be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, Best Scorer and Best Server after leading all players throughout the tournament with 116 kills and 15 aces.