Team Brazil
Japan downed Korea 3-0 in the classification match to claim their first Olympic medal in 28 years, thereby bringing the “Land of the Rising Sun” back to the top after this nation had dominated the international volleyball scene through the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Brazil vs. United States 3-1
After the real setback they had suffered in the opening set that ended for Brazil with the worst score ever since the introduction of the rally point system, only a few were keen to pick out the 2008 Olympic champions as the eventual winners of the gold medal at Earls Court. However, they eventually stormed back stepping up their quality and intensity to finally stop the American scoring machine and go for a well-deserved 3-1 win (11-25, 25-17, 25-20, and 25-17) to strike gold and let their many fans erupt in joyful celebrations. Jaqueline Carvalho played her best game in London right by the moment it counted the most, totalling 18 points at the end of the match, with three more – Sheilla Castro, Fabiana Claudino and Fernanda Rodrigues – finishing in double figures.
USA’ offense got somehow stuck after a brilliant first set with their best attacker, Destinee Hooker, being controlled by the Brazilian block and ending up by chipping in with 14 points. With Team USA settling for their third silver medal at the Olympics, this result expands Brazil’s medal collection to four, with two gold and two bronze medals included in their unique showcase. Additionally, Brazil are the sole team capable of claiming back-to-back crowns together with the Soviet Union (1968 and 1972) and Cuba (that actually got three through 1992-2000).
Japan vs. Korea 3-0
Japan dream to win an Olympic medal finally turned into reality in London as the duo formed by the “Saoris”, Kimura and Sakoda, played a superb classification match to edge Korea in straight sets (25-22, 26-24, and 25-21) to eventually claim bronze, the first medal for the nation that hosted the first volleyball Olympic events in 1964. The last time Japan had finished among the top three was in 1984 and since those days the quest for Olympic glory of the players from the “Land of the Rising Sun” had regularly resulted into a series of failures and major disappointments. This medal actually pairs with the bronze this group had seized two years ago at the World Champs in Tokyo, but stands out as a unique way to support the popularity of the sport in a country that has been always fond of volleyball but had lacked top finishes for a couple of decades. Korean star Kim Yeon-Koung once again top scored for her side with 22 points but was eventually bested by Saori Sakoda who paced Japan offense with 23. Even though they failed to return to the Olympic podium for the first time since 1976, still Korea remain the major sensation of the tournament and with Kim being only 22 they will be a major force to reckon with also in four years by the time the Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro.
Highest Scorers day-by-day
29 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v United States (28-7-12)
34 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v Serbia (30-7-12)
22 – Destinee Hooker of United States v China (1-8-12)
29 – Ekaterina Gamova of Russia v Japan (3-8-12)
33 – Nataliya Goncharova of Russia v Italy (5-8-12)
33 – Saori Kimura of Japan and Yukiko Ebata of Japan v China (7-8-12)
24 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v USA (9-8-12)
23 – Saori Sakoda of Japan v Korea (11-8-12)
Top-Scoring Performances
34 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v Serbia (30-7-12)
33 – Nataliya Goncharova of Russia v Italy (5-8-12)
33 – Saori Kimura of Japan v China (7-8-12)
33 – Yukiko Ebata of Japan v China (7-8-12)
32 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v Serbia (5-8-12)
31 – Ekaterina Gamova of Russia v Italy (5-8-12)
Top-Blocking Performances
7 – Xu Yunli of China v Serbia (28-7-12)
7 – Fabiana Claudino of Brazil v USA (11-8-12)
6 – Simona Gioli of Italy v Dominican Republic (28-7-12)
6 – Foluke Akinradewo of United States v Korea (28-7-12)
6 – Ekaterina Gamova of Russia v Dominican Republic (30-7-12)
6 – Thaisa Menezes of Brazil v China (3-8-12)
6 – Destinee Hooker of United States v Serbia (3-8-12)
Top-Serving Performances
4 – Lynne Beattie of Great Britain v Algeria (30-7-12)
4 – Sheryne Hennaqui of Algeria v Great Britain (30-7-12)
4 – Safia Boukhima of Algeria v Great Britain (30-7-12)
Highest Set Scores
31-29 – Turkey v China (Set 3) on 30-7-12
31-29 – United States v China (Set 3) on 1-8-12
30-28 – China v Brazil (Set 4) on 3-8-12
Highest Scoring Matches
232 – Japan v China 3-2 (28-26, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 18.16) on 7-8-12
228 – Brazil v Russia 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 21-19) on 7-8-12
217 – China v Korea 3-2 (28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10) on 5-8-12
214 – Brazil v Turkey 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 25-27, 15-12) on 28-7-12
212 – Brazil v China 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 28-30, 15-10) on 3-8-12
212 – Russia v Italy 3-2 (26-28, 25-19, 22-25, 25-16, 15-11) on 5-8-12
206 – Great Britain v Algeria 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 15-8) on 30-7-12
201 – Turkey v Korea 3-2 (25-16, 21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12) on 3-8-12
All the results from Olympic matches can be found here:
Volleyball – Men Volleyball – Women
