The men’s volleyball competition got underway on Sunday at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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The first day of the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics featured a number of upsets and close calls.
Team USA’s quest for redemption after a disappointing fifth-place finish in London got off to an ugly start with a sweep at the hands of underdog Canada. After a number of unforced errors plagued the Americans in a 25-23 first set loss, Canada’s block dominated the second in a 25-17 win and finished off the sweep with another 25-23 win in the third.
Star Matt Anderson tallied 15 points to lead all scorers, but other veteran members of the squad will need to improve if the United States is to bounce back. The Americans will next take on Italy on Tuesday.
That wasn’t the only major upset of the day, as the tournament’s first match also provided a major shock. Italy beat France for the first time in five matches, racing out to a 11-0 lead before easily cursing to a sweep.
Brazil entered the Olympics as one of the medal favorites and figured to have an easy time against Mexico, the lowest ranked team in the tournament. However, the Mexicans stunned the hosts with a 25-23 first set win before Brazil recovered with comfortable wins in the next three frames behind 18 points from Wallace de Souza.
Egypt played well against heavily favored Poland, but was eventually defeated in straight sets 25-18, 25-20, 25-17. Despite 20 points from Osneil Cecilio Rendon Gonzalez, Russia was able to put away a game Cuban team in four sets.
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In the final match of the day, Argentina swept Iran behind 21 points from Facundo Conte. Men’s pool play will resume with the second round of games on Tuesday.
For more Rio volleyball coverage, check out our Olympics hub page.