Tokyo Olympic Analysis

Last week we looked at the final pool play match from the USA Women in the 2021 Olympics. That was a close 5-set win by the Americans over Italy, which propelled them to first in the pool and an eventual run to Olympic gold. And it knocked Italy into a tough first round playoff matchup; a loss in that match took them out of medal contention. I zoomed in on the 5th set in particular, and we saw how USA and ITA played each other dead even in both the First Ball and Transition aspects of the game, and that USA’s 3-point advantage in Terminal Serves made up the whole margin of their 15-12 5th-set victory.

This week won’t be as fun of a watch for American volleyball fans. Pool B was known as the, “Pool of Death,” in the 2021 Men’s Olympics, with traditional powerhouses USA, Russia, and Brazil all in that pool along with darkhorse contenders France and Argentina. Going into the very final match of all Olympic pool play, the USA and Argentina matched up in an elimination match. If either team lost, they would not make the quarterfinals.