USA on top of Pool C, Japan secure a spot in the quarterfinals

The United States and Japan both had reason to celebrate in the last match of Friday's schedule at the South Paris Arena 1, as while the Americans triumphed and secured first place in Pool C ahead of the elimination rounds of the men's volleyball tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Asians won the won set they needed to book a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Americas started in a strong rhythm, saw the Japanese elevate their game in the third set, but regained control of the match to produce a 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19) victory in the teams' last pool play match in Paris.

With eight points, obtained with victories over Argentina, Germany and Japan, the United States ended the pool phase in first place. Germany got a three-set win over Argentina and got to six points, also securing their spot in the elimination rounds. With four points, six sets won and seven lost, Japan are now guaranteed as one of the two best third-placed teams and picked up the last spot available in the quarterfinals.

With the victory, the Americans also collected 10.43 FIVB World Ranking points, going from sixth to fourth, with 348.17 points. One of the teams they passed, Japan went down to sixth, now accumulating 342.53 points.

Matt Anderson, TJ Defalco and Taylor Averill all made major contributions to the American victory, with the opposite leading the team with 16 points (15 kills, one ace) and the outside hitter and the middle blocker tallying 14 each.

"We're totally satisfied with how we performed in these first three matches," Anderson reflected. "We had a very clean match against Argentina and were tested against Germany and Japan as they pushed us and exposed some things we weren't ready for, but we responded very well on both occasions. Today, we got to respond even quicker, which was huge. We got back to the basic style of volleyball and stayed true to it. We weren't trying to do too much and were just relying on our teammates to make good plays. I feel that these three matches put us in a really good position to make a good run. But it's the Olympics and whoever we play among these ones that made it into the top eight are going to be good opponents."

On the Japanese side, with captain Yuki Ishikawa limited to just four points and subbed off in the second set, opposite Yuji Nishida carried the team's offensive load, topping all scorers, with 18 points (17 kills, one block). He was helped by outside hitters Ran Takahashi, who recovered from a slow start to end the match with nine points, and Tatsunori Otsuka, who came off the bench for Ishikawa and added six, helping the team win the third set.

"When I came in, I wasn't too worried about the technical part of the game," Otsuka revealed. "I just felt the team was down and I wanted to cheer them up and bring a new energy to the court. We did what we had to do and now we focus on the quarterfinals. There's not a lot of time to make major chances in the way we play or anything, so we need to make sure we're motivated and positive for what's to come."

Two matches end pool play on Saturday

Saturday will be the last day of pool play for the men at the Paris 2024 Games and by the end of the day, the duels of the quarterfinals, which will be held on Monday, will be determined.

Paris 2024 – Match Schedule and Results

The first match of the day will reunite Poland and Italy, who will play at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT), in Pool B. The Polish have five points and the Italians six and the winners will advance to the quarterfinals in first place.

Later, at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT), Serbia and Canada will play for third place in Pool A. Neither of the teams can, however, qualify for the quarterfinals.

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