MATCH STATS
The Olympics present a few of the best triumphs in sports activities, however they’ll additionally present a few of the best heartbreaks. After an unbelievable match towards top-ranked Poland, Group USA males’s volleyball finds itself on the incorrect finish of the unbelievable feelings these 17 days present.
Main two units to at least one with Poland on the ropes, it appeared america was on its option to its first Olympic closing since 2008. Abruptly, all of it flipped, and earlier than they might blink, the People had been relegated to the bronze medal match a heart-shattering five-set loss.
Getting into because the top-ranked staff on this planet, Poland was seeking to lastly overcome the ghosts which have haunted it on the Olympic Video games for years. Poland had misplaced within the quarterfinals of the final 5 Olympic Video games till it beat Slovenia to achieve the semifinal stage. Now, Poland is within the gold medal match, and it took every part the nation needed to get there.
The Polish appeared down and out towards america, however confirmed the resolve and expertise that has made them the highest staff on this planet. Down two units to at least one and trailing within the fourth, they picked themselves up off the mat, dusted themselves off and got here again to pressure a decisive closing set.
Trailing 14-10 within the fifth, america had one final shot again. The People scored 4 straight factors and dragged themselves again inside one. Nonetheless, Polish celebrity and the most effective gamers on Earth, Wilfredo Leon, didn’t permit it go any additional. Poland discovered its man and he delivered a ferocious strike that went off a physique and landed out of bounds to provide Poland its greatest win in 48 years.
Leon — as he nearly all the time is — was the star of the evening with 26 kills on 22/41 swings. Alongside Tomasz Fornal (13 factors on 12/20 swings) Leon willed his nation again into the match and throughout the end line. Poland is now assured its first medal — and solely second in historical past — because it received the gold all the way in which again in 1976.