Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 14, 2016 - The biggest clash of the day in Rio will see 2012 bronze medallists Japan face Argentina with the winner taking the final berth in the knockout round of the Olympic competition.
Both teams have 1-3 records, their only victories coming against bottom team Cameroon and Argentina needed five sets to get that win. Japan took a set off Korea in their first match but lost 3-0 against Brazil and Russia, while Argentina were soundly beaten in their three losses, all 3-0.
The two teams have only met six times in FIVB competitions and Japan have won all six matches. Their only recent encounter came in the round-robin phase of the 2015 FIVB World Cup in Tokyo last year when Japan won convincingly 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-12).
Japan’s top scorers are Miyu Nagaoka with 45 and Saori Kimura with 44. Argentina are led by Tanya Acosta with 40 points. Japan can boast the second-best blocker in veteran Erika Araki, while Kimura is the fifth-best server. Both have highly rated liberos: Tatiana Rizzo for Argentina and Arisa Sato for Japan.