Volleyball is all about competition and watching really good teams play each other. That competition is only elevated when these teams get to play on the international stage.
Whether you’re into watching the past winners compete for a gold medal or you like a good underdog coming in to steal the show, the Olympics is a great place to watch some volleyball.
There’s going to be a lot of volleyball matches in a short amount of time, and you may not be able to watch them all, so we compiled a few matches that you need to watch this year if you can’t watch them all.
Women’s Volleyball Tournament
Don’t miss a game with our unique match schedule that shows you every single Beach and Indoor Volleyball match all in one location.
USA vs. China
Tuesday 27 July @ 11:05 JST / 01:00 GMT
After watching these two teams face off in the 2021 VNL tournament, it’s going to be fun to watch them get to play each other again. They are both very strong, experienced teams with fantastic veterans coming back like USA’s Jordan Larson and China’s Zhu Ting. China has three gold medals under their belt and won the most recent Olympic Games in Rio, while USA is trying for their first Olympic gold medal this year. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see USA and China play each other in the gold medal match, but watching them play in the preliminaries will be a fun match to watch nonetheless.
Serbia vs. Japan
Tuesday 27 July @ 14:20 JST / 05:20 GMT
One big difference between these two teams is in their volleyball history. Since Serbia didn’t gain independence from Yugoslavia until 2006, volleyball is relatively new in this country. On the other side of the coin, Japan played and won the first ever Olympic volleyball competition in 1964. It will be fun to watch old traditions meet new traditions in this matchup. Serbia won the silver in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, while Japan hasn’t won a medal since their bronze medal in 2010. These teams are going to be a great matchup with their similar skill levels and their pace of play, so it’s definitely one to watch.
Men’s Volleyball Competition
Don’t miss a game with our unique match schedule that shows you every single Beach and Indoor Volleyball match all in one location.
Japan vs. Italy
Wednesday 28 July @ 19:40 JST / 10:40 GMT
This match will be a really fun match to watch because both Japan and Italy have young teams with lots of promising up-and-comers. On Japan’s team, they have Ran Takahashi, fresh out of high school and already making big plays for the team on the outside, as well as Yuji Nishida coming in as a huge asset on the opposite side at just 21 years old. On Italy’s team, there’s Alessandro Michieletto who’s just 20 years old and already making moves on the outside, as well as Simon Giannelli as setter with already one Olympic Games under his belt at just 24 years old. Both teams are playing at about the same level with Japan taking the No. 11 spot in the 2021 VNL tournament, right behind Italy who was in the No. 10 spot. It will be a battle of the young guys and it should be a super fun match to watch.
Brazil vs. France
Sunday 1 August @ 11:05 JST / 02:05 GMT
This match is one of volleyball greats. You have Wallace De Souza, Yoandy Leal and Ricardo Lucarelli from Brazil who have huge hits and the ability to create winning points. On France’s side, you have Earvin N’Gapeth who is a scary good player all around the court, Stephen Boyer hitting big on the opposite side, and Jenia Grebennikov cleaning up the back row as libero. Though France has yet to win an Olympic medal, this could be their year with some great players on their team. It will be fun to see how they compare to the unstoppable Brazil men’s national team.
