U.S. men win volleyball bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, beating Italy in straight sets
PARIS (AP) — Four-time U.S. Olympians Matt Anderson and David Smith are medalists once more.
They came back for this chance.
The Americans are taking home men’s volleyball hardware from the Paris Olympics, outlasting Italy in a wild, back-and-forth battle for bronze on Friday.
It went 25-23, 30-28 — a sensational second set in which each country had multiple chances — and 26-24 at a rocking South Paris Arena.
Once Torey DeFalco’s clincher point was scored, longtime libero Erik Shoji’s arms shot into the air in triumph as others fell to their knees. Then after shaking hands with Italy, they all took turns giving long hugs to the coaches and support staff.
No doubt, No. 4 Italy vs. the fifth-ranked U.S. made for quite a matchup.
Facing a match point, Italy tied it up at 24 in the third in a long rally in which both teams made great plays to keep it going. Then, after a service error by Italy, the Americans closed it out on their next chance.
The Americans had to regroup in a hurry from the heartbreak of a five-set loss to No. 1 Poland two days earlier. And this was a long time coming after they failed to even advance from group play in Tokyo three years ago.
One of the youngest teams in Brazil, a handful of the U.S. players decided to return for another run after the disappointment of their early exit in Japan.
Then the Americans led 20-17 in the second set before Italy rallied to go ahead 21-20. Italy had a 24-23 lead but Roberto Russo’s serve sailed long, only for Taylor Averill to also miss his serve.
France will face world No. 1 Poland in Saturday’s gold-medal match.
Anderson and Smith led an experienced group on the Olympic stage.
And might Anderson consider making another run at the Olympics in Los Angeles four years from now at age 41?
“We’ll see,” he said this week, “we’ll see.”
