US Men’s Volleyball Stun Brazil To Deny Olympic Hosts Quarterfinal Berth

Matt Anderson and the U.S. men’s volleyball team defeated Brazil in four sets (3-1) on Thursday night to deny the previously unbeaten host country a quarterfinal berth in the Rio Olympics. 

US Men’s Volleyball Stun Brazil To Deny Olympic Hosts Quarterfinal Berth

After sloppy and inconsistent performances on the first two days of preliminaries (the US men lost to Canada in three sets 3-0 in Sunday’s opener, then to Italy in four sets on Tuesday), a whole new U.S. men’s team showed up to the Maracanazinho arena to play the top-ranked host nation.

“We play our best volleyball when our backs are against the wall,” U.S. captain David Lee said. “We proved it again tonight.” Lee and Anderson led a roster filled with Olympic rookies to a 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20 victory that left the booming crowd in Rio di Janeiro in disbelief.

With the crucial win, the U.S. snapped a four-match losing streak to Brazil in international competition since winning the World League gold medal on July 20, 2014.

“This was probably the hardest we’ve fought, I think our team has ever fought,” Lee added. “That’s some of the best defense I’ve ever seen.”

The men’s team– ranked fifth in the world–left the arena with victories in the first two sets, thanks to major contributions from setter Micah Christenson (nine points, four aces), Anderson (24 points on 23 spikes) and outside hitter Aaron Russell (19 points).

The U.S. struggled with service faults in their first two matches in Rio, giving their opponents too many easy points. Thursday night, however, serving was a strong point for the Americans, who stunned Brazil with clutch aces from the onset.

“When you’re playing against an entire crowd that’s against you, 95 percent of the crowd’s against you, if you can get them to be quiet, it’s a hell of a feeling,” Anderson said.

In the first set, the U.S. capitalized on a pair of challenges that led to their 19th and 20th points.

Brazil’s struggles began early, as the first serve of the second set hit the net, thus giving the U.S. an early lead. Lee, playing in his third Olympics, propelled his team with a spike, followed by a big-time block to gain a 4-1 lead.

Both teams traded points for most of the second before another Christenson ace gave USA set point to pull away.

Brazil rebounded in the third and the U.S. squad lost a point early in the set after a miscommunication issue. The hosts gained a 24-19 lead before an intense rally and eventual U.S. point looked like a comeback could be possible.

Nevertheless, Brazil hung on win the third set.

In the fourth set, Christenson again led the Americans with strong serving to rack up more points. The U.S. took control for the entire fourth set and finally defeated the 2012 silver medalists after nearly two hours of play.

“It’s a huge lesson in knowing that we can come back, even against one of the best teams – if not the best team – in this tournament,” Anderson said.

With three points from the match, the US now pulls even with Canada for the fourth spot in Pool A– the final quarterfinals spot– with two games left to play.

Brazil won six of eight sets to begin the Olympics, but picked up zero points Thrusday and remains tied with France for the second spot with six points after three matches.

U.S. next plays against World No. 11 France at 4:05 p.m. Saturday on Day 4 of the preliminaries. France just beat Canada and Mexico in back-to-back games.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 11: Erik Shoji #22 of the United States in action during the men’s qualifying volleyball match between Brazil and United States on Day 6 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracanazinho on August 11, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)