Team USA men’s volleyball to play for bronze medal after brutal loss to Poland
The Olympics provide some of the greatest triumphs in sports, but they can also provide some of the greatest heartbreaks. After an incredible match against top-ranked Poland, Team USA men’s volleyball finds itself on the wrong end of the incredible emotions these 17 days provide.
Leading two sets to one with Poland on the ropes, it seemed the United States was on its way to its first Olympic final since 2008. Suddenly, it all flipped, and before they could blink, the Americans were relegated to the bronze medal match a heart-shattering five-set loss.
Entering as the top-ranked team in the world, Poland was looking to finally overcome the ghosts that have haunted it at the Olympic Games for years. Poland had lost in the quarterfinals of the last five Olympic Games until it beat Slovenia to reach the semifinal stage. Now, Poland is in the gold medal match, and it took everything the country had to get there.
The Polish looked down and out against the United States, but showed the resolve and talent that has made them the top team in the world. Down two sets to one and trailing in the fourth, they picked themselves up off the mat, dusted themselves off and came back to force a decisive final set.
Trailing 14-10 in the fifth, the United States had one last shot back. The Americans scored three straight points and dragged themselves back within one. However, Polish superstar and one of the best players on Earth, Wilfredo Leon, did not allow it to go any further. Poland found its man and he delivered a ferocious strike that went off a body and landed out of bounds to give Poland its biggest win in 48 years.
Leon — as he almost always is — was the star of the night with 26 kills on 22/41 swings. Alongside Tomasz Fornal (13 points on 12/20 swings) Leon willed his country back into the match and across the finish line. Poland is now guaranteed its first medal — and only second in history — since it won the gold all the way back in 1976.
