Top-seeded Brazil on fire as women’s quarterfinals are determined

The top seed for the quarterfinals of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympics was undetermined until the very last match of the pool phase on Sunday and Brazil managed to claim it with their third victory at the South Paris Arena 1.

The South Americans kept their record clean in Paris, getting their third straight sweep in the event and downed Poland 3-0 (25-21, 38-36, 25-14) to end the preliminary phase of the tournament as not only the top team in Pool B, but as the best side among all 12 participants.

As the best team in the preliminary phase with nine points, three wins and no sets lost, Brazil got the first seed ahead of the quarterfinals. With that, their opponents will be the Dominican Republic, who finished third in Pool C with three points and ranked eighth overall.

“We're happy with what we showed in pool play, but we know that we haven't won anything yet and what happened with us in the VNL recently and also with other teams in sports show that," Brazilian middle blocker Ana Carolina 'Carol' da Silva reflected. "The quarterfinals are always very dangerous and the Dominicans will be tough opponents. They have players with a lot of experience and quality, who know us very well, and we'll need to prepare well and be ready for another battle."

Italy, who were first in Pool C, also went undefeated in pool play getting all nine points, but dropped a set along the way, ranking second. World champions Serbia, who were third in Pool A with four points and one win, will be their opponents on their way to the semifinals as they ranked seventh.

Paris 2024 - Preliminary Phase Combined Ranking

The encounter between the third and sixth-best teams will reunite China and Türkiye, in a rematch of the Volleyball Nations League 2023 final. The Asians were the top team in Pool A with an undefeated campaign of three wins that earned them eight points, while the Europeans were second in Pool C, with five points and two wins.

Second in Pool A with six points and two wins, defending champions the United States were the best second-placed team in the event, then ranking fourth. They will now play Poland, who also got six points and two wins, but ranked fifth, behind the Americans, because of their set ratio.

“The USA are a very complete team and one of the best in the world," Polish outside hitter Martyna Łukasic analyzed. "We played them a few times and got to win some, but we're sure it's going to be even tougher now. The most important thing for us is getting on the court with the right mindset. We need to believe we can win and if that happens we will be in a good position to play at our best level."

Paris 2024 – Match Schedule and Results

All four quarterfinal matches will be held on Tuesday at the South Paris Arena 1, starting at 9:00 local time (7:00 GMT), 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

Gabi stands out against Poland

Brazilian captain Gabriela 'Gabi' Guimarães had a tremendous performance in the team's sweep of Poland on Sunday, leading the team with 21 points, all in kills. Opposite Rosamaria Montibeller also produced at an excellent level, registering 18 points (15 kills, two aces, one block).

"I don't think the 3-0 score makes justice to the amount of work we had to do to get this win," Rosamaria commented. "We studied their game a lot after they beat us in the VNL and we were very resilient in the second set to remain focused, not let it go and keep fighting for the victory. Our results were important, especially because of how we performed in each match, but we know it starts all over now and we'll need to be ready."

Opposite Magdalena Stysiak was Poland's top scorer in the match with 13 points (ten kills, three blocks), followed by middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk and outside hitter Martyna Czyrniańska, who had 11 each.

"I think that what we should take from this match is the second set we played against Brazil," Korneluk revealed. "We played at a very high level, but they have been a top team in the world for quite some time and we're getting there now and that makes a difference in moments like these, but we can definitely learn a lot from it. It's the first Olympics for our entire squad and we're happy to be in the quarterfinals."

The South Americans had the edge in kills (56 to 43), aces (six to two) and also got more points from opponent errors (17 to 13). Poland dominated the net with 13 blocks to Brazil's nine.

Men’s quarterfinals on Monday

The men’s quarterfinals will take the entire match schedule at the South Paris Arena 1 on Monday, with four duels happening during the day – Slovenia and Poland will play at 9:00 local time (7:00 GMT), Italy and Japan will meet at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), France and Germany will face each other at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and the United States and Brazil will duel at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

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