Paris 2024: Poland and Italy crush Slovenia and Japan (who wasted a 2-0 lead!) Olympic dreams.

In a historic victory, Poland National Team is the first team to secure a ticket for the semifinals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after winning over Slovenia in four sets, 1-3 (20:25, 26:24, 19:25, 20:25) in the quarterfinals marking their first appearance in the Olympic medal rounds since 1980!
The match, held at South Paris Arena 1, saw Poland break a five-Game quarterfinal curse that had plagued them in previous Olympics.
Poland’s well-deserved victory was led by Wilfredo Leon, who scored a match-high 20 points, while Bartosz Kurek added 19 points.
Slovenia, making a remarkable first Olympic appearance, fought hard but fell short despite strong performances from Klemen Čebulj and Tine Urnaut.
Poland now looks forward to facing either the USA or Brazil in the semifinals, with a chance to compete for their first Olympic volleyball medal since the Moscow Games of 1980.

At lunchtime, Italy’s epic comeback crushes Japan’s Olympic dreams.
In second thrilling quarterfinal they staged an extraordinary comeback to defeat the rivals 3-2 (20:25, 23:25, 27:25, 26:24, 17:15) and secure a spot in the semifinals. The match, marked by dramatic shifts and intense play, almost saw Italy’s Olympic journey end prematurely.
In fact, Japan dominated the first two sets, even miserably wasting three match points in the third set, leading 24-21.
However, Italy’s resilience (despite 23 errors from the service line, 9 only from Romanò), shone through as they clawed back into the game, eventually winning the third set and rallying to take the fourth. In a nail-biting tie-breaker, Italy overcame a late 15-14 deficit to clinch victory.
In a game that is already a legend in volleyball history, one of the most vibrant ever, Alessandro Michieletto led the winners with 24 points to his name, well supported by Daniele Lavia and Yuri Romanò, who added 19 points each.
Despite a stellar performance from Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa, who scored as many as 32 points, Japan’s bid for a semifinal spot fell short.
Italy will now face the winner of the France vs. Germany quarterfinal in the semifinals, while Japan’s impressive campaign comes to a heartbreaking end, decided by two final points by middle blocker Roberto Russo.

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🏐| Volleyball Olympic Games – Paris 2024 | Monday, August 5, 2024

9.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Poland 1-3 (20:25, 26:24, 19:25, 20:25)
13.00 (Local Time) | Italy – Japan 3-2 (20:25, 23:25, 27:25, 26:24, 17:15)
17.00 (Local Time) | France – Germany 3-2 (18:25, 24:26, 25:20, 25:21, 15:13)
21.00 (Local Time) | USA – Brazil 3-1 (26:24, 28:30, 25:19, 25:19)

🏐| NEXT GAMES | SEMIFINALS | Wednesday, August 7, 2024

16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – USA
20.00 (Local Time) | Italy – France

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