There was no revenge for the defeat in Tokyo. The Brazilian women’s volleyball team succumbed to their semi-final against the United States in Paris on Thursday and will try to console themselves with Olympic bronze.
The Brazilians, Olympic champions in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 against Team USA were more than motivated to take revenge on the Americans for the defeat they suffered in the Tokyo 2020 final.
But despite their tenacity and the enthusiastic support of the Brazilian fans this Thursday at the Paris South Arena, they fell against a solid opponent in attack, who won in five sets, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25 , and 15-11.
The United States will compete for its second consecutive gold medal in women’s volleyball on Sunday against Italy, which beat Turkey 3-0 in the other semifinal.
A close duel
In a packed stadium with more than 12,000 spectators, the Brazilians were supported by the impressive ‘green and yellow’ fans who booed their rivals during their serves and roared faithfully with each point scored by their team.
The North American team started with an advantage, thanks to the points on attack and the blocks of the trio Kathryn Plummer, Andrea Drews, and Chiaka Ogbogu, with an initial partial of 5-0.
The Brazilians slowly woke up; Ana Cristina Menezes tied the game at 12 and later they took a 19-16 lead with a block by Thaisa Daher.
Captain Gabi tied the game at 22 in an effort to contain the rival push, but the North Americans won 25-23, with a definitive shot by Kathryn Plummer that Rosamaria Montibeller was unable to return in the block.
It was the first set lost by the Brazilians in this Olympic tournament, in which they quickly beat Kenya, Japan, and Poland in the group stage, and the Dominican Republic in the quarter-finals.
The Brazilians started the second set stronger, with a favorable start (6-3) thanks to a spike and a block by Gabi. Chiaka Ogbogu tied the score at 8 for ‘Team USA’ with an unreachable spike, but Ana Cristina Menezes with a recital of spikes and blocks put Brazil ahead 16-10.
Jordan Thompson pushed with another difficult shot to block for Thaisa Daher (19-15 for Brazil), but the South Americans knew how to maintain the advantage and take the set by 25-18, led by Ana Cristina and Thaisa, solid in the attack.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Americans came back strong in the third set. They started off at a good pace with a 10-4 run and advanced to a 17-10 lead thanks to a powerful block by Avery Skinner on Ana Cristina’s spike, who left the bench shortly after. Team USA kept the gap open and with Thaisa also on the bench, they had no problem comfortably winning the set (25-15) with another point on the attack by Skinner.
The fourth set started with an electric rhythm and the Brazilians resisted the push of ‘Team USA’, with a key point in the attack by Gabi (6-6) and an inspired Ana Cristina who put the score up 9-8.
The ‘canarinho’ continued to press, 20-17 with a block by Roberta Silva Ratzke and an even more committed crowd. The nervousness and the American attack were on the verge of resulting in an unpleasant surprise for the South Americans, who managed to resolve the match with a tight 25-23 when Ogbogu touched the net.
The fifth and final set began in a very close match, with an initial score of 6-6. The Americans, however, reacted in time to take the lead and, with the set 14-11 in their favor, Kathryn Plummer was in charge of giving the final blow with another powerful shot.
Brazil will now play the bronze medal match on Saturday against the loser of the Italy-Turkiye match.
