USA men's volleyball falls to Poland, will play for bronze

The United States men’s volleyball team fell to Poland in five sets Wednesday, failing to advance to the gold medal match of the 2024 Summer Olympics this Saturday.

Team USA’s drought without gold will continue, as they last won gold in men’s volleyball back in 2008 in the Beijing Olympics. They await the loser of Italy and France later Wednesday as they go for bronze on Friday.

Poland rallied down two sets to one to force a tiebreaker, and overcame the U.S., 15-13. Poland will play for a gold medal in men’s volleyball for the first time since its triumph in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Team USA men’s volleyball will settle for bronze medal match in 2024 Olympics

The Americans got off to a slow start against Poland, dropping the first set 25-23. They responded by taking the second set, 27-25, and dominating the third set, 25-14. Team USA had the gold medal match in their sights late in the fourth set, but Poland went on a run late to secure the 25-23 victory and force the tiebreaker.

Matt Anderson led the way for Team USA with 24 points. Aaron Russell contributed with 20 points of his own, his most in a single match these Olympics. Poland’s Wilfredo Leon Venero, the 2023 CEV European Championship MVP, was once again the star for his country, scoring a match-high 26 points. He added two service aces and two point blocks.

Though they won’t play for a gold medal, Team USA’s performance is still a massive improvement on what they did three years ago in Tokyo, when they failed to medal and finished a disappointing 10th. The U.S. previously captured bronze in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.