Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 16, 2016 - The thrill, the excitement, the tension and the agony lasted to the very last minute, the very last point of men's pool play at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, as hosts Brazil, with their backs against the wall, rose to the occasion and claimed the last ticket to the top eight.
Locked in must-win situation Brazil and France were in a straightforward battle for the eighth qualifying spot. Inspired by yet another fantastic sellout crowd at the Maracanazinho, Brazil finally found their winning ways after two straight defeats to down the reigning European Champions
3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23).
Previously, Canada had scored a historic first-ever win over Italy (who were not only already qualified, but also assured of a first-place Pool A finish)
3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21). Earlier in the morning USA had secured their own quarterfinal berth with a
3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-19) sweep of winless Mexico.
In Pool B, Argentina secured pole position with an early morning win over Egypt
3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-20)) to ensure a quarterfinal matchup against the fourth-ranked team of Pool A (which turned out to be their arch-rivals Brazil). In other Pool B action Russia beat Iran
3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) and Poland shut out winless Cuba
3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17).
Summary Statistics - Men’s Tournament Rio 2016Highest Scorer by Day21 – Facundo Conte of Argentina v Iran on August 7
23 – Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Iran on August 9
21 – Earvin Ngapeth of France v Canada on August 11
36 – Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Russia on August 13
26 – Antonin Rouzier of France v Brazil on August 15
Top Scoring Performances36 – Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Russia on August 13
26 – Antonin Rouzier of France v Brazil on August 15
25 – Antonin Rouzier of France v United States on August 13
25 – Gavin Schmitt of Canada v Italy on August 15
23 – Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Iran on August 9
22 – Aaron Russell of United States v Italy on August 9
Top Individual Blocking Performances8 – Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Poland on August 9
8 – Artem Volvich of Russia v Egypt on August 11
5 – Facundo Conte of Argentina v Iran on August 7
5 – Pablo Crer of Argentina v Russia on August 9
5 – Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Cuba on August 11
5 – Graham Vigrass of Canada v Mexico on August 13
5 – Emanuele Birarelli of Italy v Brazil on August 13
5 – Mauricio de Souza of Brazil v France on August 15
Top Individual Service Performances5 – Maxwell Holt of United States v Mexico on August 15
4 – Ricardo Lucarelli of Brazil v Mexico on August 7
Top Team Blocking Performances17 – Russia v Egypt on August 11
13 – Iran v Poland on August 9
13 – Iran v Cuba on August 11
13 – Argentina v Cuba on August 13
13 – Italy v Brazil on August 13
Top Team Serving Performances10 – Egypt v Cuba on August 9
9 – Brazil v Mexico on August 7
Highest Scoring Sets37-35 Poland v Argentina (3rd Set) on August 11
31-29 Iran v Cuba (2nd Set) on August 11
28-26 Italy v United States (1st Set) on August 9
28-26 Iran v Egypt (1st Set) on August 13
26-24 Argentina v Iran (2nd Set) on August 7
26-24 Canada v Brazil (1st Set) on August 9
Highest Scoring Matches217 – Poland d Iran 3-2 (25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 18-16) on August 9
202 – Russia d Poland 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-10) on August 13
195 – Italy d United States 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23) on August 9
Quick links - Volleyball:Rio 2016 Olympic Games - VolleyballRio 2016 Olympic Games - Volleyball scheduleRio 2016 Olympic Games - Volleyball - Teams - MenRio 2016 Olympic Games - Volleyball - Teams - Women
Rio 2016 Olympic Games - Volleyball - Media GuideRio 2016 Olympic Games - Volleyball history