Italy and Poland take advantage after three days of men’s volleyball at Rio 2016

Italy and Poland remain the only two undefeated teams in men’s volleyball at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, after hosts Brazil suffered their first defeat at the hands of USA – who themselves were scoring their first win in three rounds of pool play.

USA are still alive and kicking in the Olympic tournament after their 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20) win over Brazil, which comes following two defeats of the North Americans in their opening matches in Pool A.

In other Pool A action Thursday, Italy remained undefeated after sweeping Mexico 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-17). And France made a huge step towards the quartefinals with an impressive and highly convincing 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) win over Canada.

In Pool B, Poland have broken away at the top of the table as the only other undefeated team of the men’s tournament, after their latest win over Argentina 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 37-35). Also, defending Olympic champions Russia demolished Egypt 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-9) in 54 minutes, shattering three Olympic scoring and duration records on the way, and Iran scored their first win at Rio 2016 downing Cuba 3-0 (25-21, 31-29, 25-16).
Men’s pool play resumes on Saturday 13 August. The top for teams of each pool advance to the quarterfinals.

Summary Statistics – Men’s Tournament Rio 2016

Highest Scorer by Day
21 – Facundo Conte of Argentina v Iran on August 7
23 – Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Iran on August 9
24 – Matt Anderson of USA v Brazil on August 11

Top Scoring Performances
24 – Matt Anderson of USA v Brazil on August 11
23 – Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Iran on August 9
22 – Aaron Russell of United States v Italy on August 9
21 – Facundo Conte of Argentina v Iran on August 7
21 – Earvin Ngapeth of France v Canada on August 11
20 – Osniel Rendon of Cuba v Russia on August 7
20 – Osmany Juantorena of Italy v United States on August 9
20 – Ahmed Abdelhay of Egypt v Cuba on August 9

Top Individual Blocking Performances
8 – Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Poland on August 9
8 – Artem Volvich of Russia v Egypt on August 11
5 – Facundo Conte of Argentina v Iran on August 7
5 – Pablo Crer of Argentina v Russia on August 9
5 – Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Cuba on August 11
4 – Maxwell Holt of United States v Italy on August 9
4 – Michal Kubiak of Poland v Iran on August 9
4 – Nicholas Hoag of Canada v Brazil on August 9
4 – Simone Buti of Italy v Mexico on August 11
4 – Lucas Saatkamp of Brazil v USA on August 11

Top Individual Service Performances
4 – Ricardo Lucarelli of Brazil v Mexico on August 7
4 – Micah Christenson of USA v Brazil on August 11

Top Team Blocking Performances
17 – Russia v Egypt on August 11
13 – Iran v Poland on August 9
13 – Iran v Cuba on August 11
11 – Italy v France on August 7
11 – Argentina v Russia on August 9
11 – Brazil v Canada on August 9
11 – Italy v Mexico on August 11
10 – Russia v Cuba on August 7
10 – Argentina v Iran on August 7
10 – Poland v Iran on August 9

Top Team Serving Performances
10 – Egypt v Cuba on August 9
10 – Poland v Argentina on August 11
9 – Brazil v Mexico on August 7
9 – USA v Brazil on August 11

Highest Scoring Sets
37-35 Poland v Argentina (3rd set) on August 11
31-29 Iran v Cuba (2nd set) on August 11
28-26 Italy v United States (1st Set) on August 9

26-24 Argentina v Iran (2nd Set) on August 7
26-24 Canada v Brazil (1st set) on August 9

Highest Scoring Matches
217 – Poland d Iran 3-2 (25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 18-16) on August 9
195 – Italy d United States 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23) on August 9