Paris 2024: Olympic champions USA and world champions Serbia to clash in Pool A

The 12 women’s volleyball national teams qualified for the Paris 2024 Games start on Sunday to fight for a spot in the elimination rounds of the Olympic tournament, which will have the South Paris Arena 1 as the stage for its matches.

Pool play will be the first phase of the tournament, with eight of the 12 teams entered moving forward to the elimination rounds. Three pools were formed ahead of the start of the event and, at the conclusion of the pool phase, all three pool winners and runners-up will advance to the quarterfinals, as well as the two best-ranked third-placed sides.

Pool A will reunite at least three real medal candidates in the Games, with Olympic champions the United States, world champions Serbia and Asian powerhouse China all set to battle for spots in the elimination rounds. The fourth team in the pool, hosts France will need at least one upset to have a chance of moving forward in their Olympic debut.

Here’s your quick guide for the four national teams that are part of Pool A:

France

Hosting the Olympics has given France their first opportunity to appear in the event and they want to make the most of it. Currently in 19^th place in the FIVB World Rankings, the French have given signs of progress over the last few years, competing for the first time in the Volleyball Nations League in 2024 after their victory at the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup one year before. They also had top-ten finishes in back-to-back editions of the European Championship (seventh in 2021 and sixth in 2023) and triumphed at the European Golden League in 2022.

The squad selected by head coach Émile Rousseaux has players with experience in some of the best club leagues in the world, such as outside hitter Héléna Cazaute, opposite Lucille Gicquel, setter Nina Stojiljković and middle blocker Amandha Sylves.

USA

The Tokyo Olympic champions USA return to defend their title as the fifth-best team in the world after three years away from the podium in major international tournaments. The Americans made it to the semifinals at both the FIVB World Championship (2022) and the VNL (2023), but missed the podiums on the two occasions, finishing fourth. They took silver at the NORCECA Championship in 2023.

Head coach Karch Kiraly preserved the core of the roster that won gold in Tokyo three years ago, bringing eight players back among the 12 he selected for Paris – setter Jordyn Poulter, opposites Annie Drews and Jordan Thompson, outside hitters Jordan Larson and Kelsey Cook, middle blockers Haleigh Washington and Chiaka Ogbogu and libero Justine Wong-Orantes.

Paris 2024 – Match Schedule

Serbia

In their fifth-straight Olympic appearance, Serbia will be aiming for their third-straight medal and, hopefully, their first gold. They appear in ninth place in the World Rankings, but are the reigning world champions, having won the title for a second consecutive time in 2022, and also earned medals in the VNL (bronze in 2022) and the European Championship (silver in 2021 and 2023) after their Olympic campaign in Tokyo.

The setter-opposite combo of Maja Ognjenović and Tijana Bošković is arguably the best in the world and one of the strengths of the team led by head coach Giovanni Guidetti. Outside hitter Bianka Buša and middle blocker Jovana Stevanović have established themselves as important pieces in the team while 19-year-old outside hitter Aleksandra Uzelac and middle blocker Hena Kurtagić bring new options for the Serbians.

China

China are in sixth place in the World Rankings and are among the medal contenders for the Paris 2024 Games. They showed they could compete with the best in the world when they won silver at the VNL 2023 and also had a solid sixth-place finish at the 2022 World Championship. At the continental level, the Chinese triumphed in the 2023 Asian Games and were second at the Asian Championship in the same year.

The return of star outside hitter Zhu Ting makes the Chinese even stronger for Paris 2024 as she joins a talented team led by head coach Cai Bin that also features setter Ding Xia, opposite Gong Xiangyu, outside hitter Li Yingying, middle blockers Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan and libero Wang Mengjie.

Women’s Pool A Match Schedule
July 29
17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) – USA vs. China
21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) – France vs. Serbia

July 31
17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) – USA vs. Serbia

August 1
21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) – France vs. China

August 4
13:00 local time (11:00 GMT) – France vs. USA
17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) – China vs. Serbia

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Olympic Games Paris 2024
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